Sony NEX-5 vs Sony A37

Below is a extensive assessment of the Sony NEX-5 and Sony A37, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR and both of them are offered by Sony. The sensor resolution of the NEX-5 (14MP) and the A37 (16MP) is relatively close and both cameras boast the identical sensor measurements (APS-C).

Photography Glossary

The NEX-5 was released 23 months before the A37 which makes them a generation apart from each other. The two cameras feature different body design with the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A37 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving into a full comparison, here is a brief view of how the NEX-5 scores vs the A37 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Sony Alpha NEX-5 and Sony SLT-A37. The complete galleries are available at Sony NEX-5 Gallery and Sony A37 Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Sony NEX-5 has got outside dimensions of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") having a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs) while the Sony A37 has dimensions of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") and a weight of 506 grams (1.12 lbs).

Check out the Sony NEX-5 and Sony A37 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are working with at that moment. Underneath is a front view size comparison of the NEX-5 against the A37.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the NEX-5 and A37 is 89 and 67 respectively.

Often, its hard to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements only by researching a spec sheet. The graphic below should give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the NEX-5 and A37.

Clearly, the 2 cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit different MP. You should count on the Sony A37 to render more detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older NEX-5 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.