Nikon D780 vs Olympus E-500

On this page, we will be contrasting the Nikon D780 and Olympus E-500, both Advanced DSLR cameras by competitors Nikon and Olympus. There exists a big gap among the resolutions of the D780 (25MP) and E-500 (8MP) and the D780 (Full frame) and E-500 (Four Thirds) offer totally different sensor measurements.

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The D780 was revealed 14 years after the E-500 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have the same body design (Mid-size SLR).

Before diving into a thorough comparison, here is a concise view of how the D780 matches up versus the E-500 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Nikon D780 and Olympus E-500. The full galleries are available at Nikon D780 Gallery and Olympus E-500 Gallery.

If you are going to carry around your camera regularly, you are going to need to take into account its weight and size. The Nikon D780 provides outside dimensions of 144mm x 116mm x 76mm (5.7" x 4.6" x 3.0") and a weight of 840 grams (1.85 lbs) while the Olympus E-500 has specifications of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs).

Compare the Nikon D780 and Olympus E-500 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have at that time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the D780 versus the E-500.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the D780 and E-500 is 57 and 70 respectively.

Normally, it can be difficult to see the difference in sensor sizes purely by researching technical specs. The picture here might offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the D780 and E-500.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The D780 with its bigger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Nikon D780 will result in more detail because of its extra 17 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The fresher D780 is going to have an advantage when it comes to sensor tech.