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Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50

Portability
67
Imaging
41
Features
31
Overall
37
Olympus E-300 front
 
Olympus SH-50 front
Portability
88
Imaging
40
Features
48
Overall
43

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 Key Specs

Olympus E-300
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 1.8" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Raise to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 624g - 147 x 85 x 64mm
  • Released January 2005
  • Additionally referred to as EVOLT E-300
  • New Model is Olympus E-330
Olympus SH-50
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 269g - 112 x 63 x 42mm
  • Announced January 2013
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Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 Overview

Below is a thorough review of the Olympus E-300 and Olympus SH-50, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both designed by Olympus. There exists a huge gap among the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and SH-50 (16MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and SH-50 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-300 was released 9 years prior to the SH-50 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a complete comparison, here is a brief overview of how the E-300 grades versus the SH-50 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-300 over the Olympus SH-50

 E-300 SH-50 

Reasons to pick Olympus SH-50 over the Olympus E-300

 SH-50 E-300 
AnnouncedJanuary 2013January 2005More recent by 97 months
Screen dimensions3"1.8"Bigger screen (+1.2")
Screen resolution460k134kClearer screen (+326k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-300 and Olympus SH-50

 E-300 SH-50 
Manually focus More precise focusing
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen No selfie screen

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 Physical Comparison

When you are planning to lug around your camera, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-300 has physical measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") having a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Olympus SH-50 has measurements of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-300 and Olympus SH-50 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the E-300 against the SH-50.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-300 and SH-50 is 67 and 88 respectively.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its tough to see the gap in sensor measurements simply by going through a spec sheet. The visual here might give you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-300 and SH-50.

As you can see, both of those cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-300 due to its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Olympus SH-50 will produce more detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older E-300 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-300 Portrait photography details
Olympus SH-50 Portrait photography details
48
has manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
no liveview feature
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
44
manual focus
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
features face detect focus
can't use external flash
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-300 Street photography information
Olympus SH-50 Street photography information
51
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
low maximum ISO (400)
64
has image stabilization (Optical)
has focus via touch
lighter than average (269 grams)
no moving screen
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-300 Sports photography details
Olympus SH-50 Sports photography details
37
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect AF
no liveview feature
max fps very slow (3.0 frames per second)
does not have image stabilization
megapixel count low (8MP)
48
excellent zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
resolution is good (16MP)
features tracking focus
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-300 Travel photography features
Olympus SH-50 Travel photography features
45
has built in flash
lack of Time Lapse function
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
display isn't selfie friendly
69
lighter than average (269 grams)
has focus via touch
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
quite wide (25mm)
great zoom (600mm)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
display isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-300 Landscape photography information
Olympus SH-50 Landscape photography information
43
has manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
screen is small (1.8 inch)
no liveview feature
does not have image stabilization
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
low maximum ISO (400)
lack of Time Lapse function
49
manual focus
quite wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
resolution is good (16MP)
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
doesn't have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-300 as a Vlogging camera
Olympus SH-50 as a Vlogging camera
9
lack of video recording
34
quite wide (25mm)
touch screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
features face detect focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than average (269 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
display isn't selfie friendly
doesn't have microphone support
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Olympus E-300 vs Olympus SH-50 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-300 and Olympus SH-50
 Olympus E-300Olympus SH-50
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-300 Olympus SH-50
Also called as EVOLT E-300 -
Category Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Released 2005-01-10 2013-01-08
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - TruePic VI
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 3264 x 2448 4608 x 3456
Maximum native ISO 400 6400
Maximum enhanced ISO 1600 -
Lowest native ISO 100 125
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Macro focus distance - 5cm
Total lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 1.8 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 134 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 15 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames/s 12.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range - 4.00 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 480fps (176 x 128), 240fps (384 x 288)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video format - MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 624 gr (1.38 lbs) 269 gr (0.59 lbs)
Physical dimensions 147 x 85 x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") 112 x 63 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery model - SLB-10A
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, Pet Auto Shutter)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II) SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Single Single
Cost at release $800 $300