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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5

Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
24
Overall
31
Olympus VG-120 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-5 front
Portability
89
Imaging
54
Features
58
Overall
55

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 Key Specs

Olympus VG-120
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 120g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Released January 2011
Sony NEX-5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 287g - 111 x 59 x 38mm
  • Launched June 2010
  • Newer Model is Sony NEX-5N
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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 Overview

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus VG-120 and Sony NEX-5, former is a Ultracompact while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the VG-120 (14MP) and the NEX-5 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the VG-120 (1/2.3") and NEX-5 (APS-C) posses different sensor measurements.

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The VG-120 was released 8 months after the NEX-5 which means that they are of a similar age. The two cameras feature different body design with the Olympus VG-120 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving into a step-by-step comparison, here is a brief summation of how the VG-120 scores against the NEX-5 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VG-120 over the Sony NEX-5

 VG-120 NEX-5 
LaunchedJanuary 2011June 2010More modern by 8 months

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-5 over the Olympus VG-120

 NEX-5 VG-120 
Focus manually Dial precise focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution920k230kClearer display (+690k dot)

Common features in the Olympus VG-120 and Sony NEX-5

 VG-120 NEX-5 
Display size3"3"Same display measurements
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither features Touch friendly display

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 Physical Comparison

In case you're looking to carry around your camera regularly, you'll need to think about its weight and size. The Olympus VG-120 enjoys physical measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") having a weight of 120 grams (0.26 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-5 has specifications of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") with a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Examine the Olympus VG-120 and Sony NEX-5 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you use at the time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the VG-120 and the NEX-5.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the VG-120 and NEX-5 is 96 and 89 respectively.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 Sensor Comparison

Usually, its difficult to picture the difference in sensor sizes only by seeing a spec sheet. The pic here should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the VG-120 and NEX-5.

Clearly, the two cameras feature the identical resolution but different sensor sizes. The VG-120 offers the smaller sensor which is going to make obtaining shallow DOF harder. The more recent VG-120 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 sensor size comparison

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Portrait photography factors
Sony NEX-5 Portrait photography factors
33
decent sensor resolution (14 megapixels)
includes face detect focus
focusing manually not possible
no manual mode
cannot use external flash
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
72
has manual focus
megapixel count good (14 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus VG-120
Street photography with Sony NEX-5
48
fixed screen
lack of image stabilization
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
76
screen tilts up and down
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
no image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Sports photography info
Sony NEX-5 Sports photography info
26
decent sensor resolution (14MP)
no shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
not so great battery power (160 shots)
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
52
megapixel count good (14MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
no image stabilization
does not have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Travel photography features
Sony NEX-5 Travel photography features
62
decent sensor resolution (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
rather wide (26mm)
lack of Timelapse mode
not so great battery power (160 per charge)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
slow max aperture (f2.8)
59
megapixel count good (14MP)
doesn't have Timelapse function
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Landscape photography features
Sony NEX-5 Landscape photography features
36
rather wide (26mm)
nice screen size (3 inches)
decent sensor resolution (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
no manual mode
lack of image stabilization
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
not so great battery power (160 shots)
lack of Timelapse mode
68
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
megapixel count good (14MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
no image stabilization
doesn't have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VG-120 Vlogging features
Sony NEX-5 Vlogging features
28
rather wide (26mm)
includes face detect focus
slow max aperture (f2.8)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
video resolution low (1280 x 720 resolution)
lack of microphone port
28
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
display is not selfie friendly
no image stabilization
doesn't have microphone jack
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Olympus VG-120 vs Sony NEX-5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VG-120 and Sony NEX-5
 Olympus VG-120Sony Alpha NEX-5
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus VG-120 Sony Alpha NEX-5
Class Ultracompact Entry-Level Mirrorless
Released 2011-01-06 2010-06-07
Body design Ultracompact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4288 x 3216 4592 x 3056
Max native ISO 1600 12800
Minimum native ISO 80 200
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points - 25
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Sony E
Lens zoom range 26-130mm (5.0x) -
Max aperture f/2.8-6.5 -
Macro focusing range 7cm -
Total lenses - 121
Crop factor 5.8 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 230 thousand dot 920 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting speed - 7.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 4.40 m 12.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync - 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG AVCHD
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 120g (0.26 pounds) 287g (0.63 pounds)
Physical dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 111 x 59 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 69
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.2
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.2
DXO Low light rating not tested 796
Other
Battery life 160 shots 330 shots
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-70B NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images))
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Price at launch $190 $599