Olympus TG-860 vs Sony NEX-5R

The following is a in depth assessment of the Olympus TG-860 vs Sony NEX-5R, former is a Waterproof while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the TG-860 (16MP) and the NEX-5R (16MP) is pretty comparable but the TG-860 (1/2.3") and NEX-5R (APS-C) have totally different sensor sizes.

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The TG-860 was launched 2 years after the NEX-5R which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus TG-860 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony NEX-5R being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight to a full comparison, here is a brief summary of how the TG-860 grades against the NEX-5R when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 & Sony Alpha NEX-5R. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus TG-860 Gallery & Sony NEX-5R Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to travel with your camera often, you will want to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus TG-860 enjoys outside dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") having a weight of 224 grams (0.49 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-5R has measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus TG-860 vs Sony NEX-5R in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use at that moment. Below is a front view overall size comparison of the TG-860 compared to the NEX-5R.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the TG-860 and NEX-5R is 91 and 89 respectively.

Generally, it is hard to visualise the gap in sensor dimensions merely by going through technical specs. The image underneath might offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the TG-860 and NEX-5R.

As you can tell, both of the cameras come with the identical MP albeit not the same sensor dimensions. The TG-860 has the smaller sensor which should make getting shallower depth of field trickier. The fresher TG-860 will have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.