Canon S95 vs Olympus E-500

Here, we are matching up the Canon S95 vs Olympus E-500, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Advanced DSLR by brands Canon and Olympus. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the S95 (10MP) and E-500 (8MP) and the S95 (1/1.7") and E-500 (Four Thirds) boast totally different sensor size.

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The S95 was released 5 years later than the E-500 and that is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Canon S95 being a Compact camera and the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a concise view of how the S95 grades against the E-500 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Canon PowerShot S95 & Olympus E-500. The complete galleries are available at Canon S95 Gallery & Olympus E-500 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera regularly, you have to think about its weight and size. The Canon S95 provides outer dimensions of 100mm x 58mm x 30mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 1.2") with a weight of 195 grams (0.43 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-500 has specifications of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") having a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs).

Look at the Canon S95 vs Olympus E-500 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilising at the time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the S95 against the E-500.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the S95 and E-500 is 93 and 70 respectively.

More often than not, it's tough to visualise the difference between sensor measurements merely by checking specifications. The graphic underneath will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the S95 and E-500.

To sum up, each of the cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The S95 because of its tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Canon S95 will resolve greater detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos way more aggressively. The more modern S95 will have an edge with regard to sensor tech.