Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515
58 Imaging
47 Features
76 Overall
58


95 Imaging
36 Features
34 Overall
35
Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 3" Fully Articulated Display
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Max Shutter
- 1280 x 720 video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 800g - 143 x 117 x 75mm
- Released February 2011
- Superseded the Olympus E-3
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 1600
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
- 152g - 102 x 60 x 21mm
- Announced August 2012

Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515 Overview
Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both offered by Olympus. The resolution of the E-5 (12MP) and the VH-515 (12MP) is relatively close but the E-5 (Four Thirds) and VH-515 (1/2.3") possess different sensor measurements.

The E-5 was released 18 months earlier than the VH-515 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera.
Before we go through a in-depth comparison, below is a brief overview of how the E-5 grades versus the VH-515 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515 Gallery
Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-5 & Olympus VH-515. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-5 Gallery & Olympus VH-515 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-5 over the Olympus VH-515
E-5 | VH-515 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual focus | ![]() | More precise focusing | ||
Screen type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Fixed | Fully Articulating screen |
Screen resolution | 920k | ![]() | 460k | Clearer screen (+460k dot) |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Easy selfies |
Reasons to pick Olympus VH-515 over the Olympus E-5
VH-515 | E-5 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Announced | August 2012 | ![]() | February 2011 | More recent by 18 months |
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Olympus E-5 and Olympus VH-515
E-5 | VH-515 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen sizing | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Equivalent screen measurements |
Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515 Physical Comparison
For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera regularly, you'll have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-5 offers physical measurements of 143mm x 117mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") and a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) whilst the Olympus VH-515 has specifications of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") with a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs).
See the Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select during that time. Underneath is the front view scale comparison of the E-5 against the VH-515.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-5 and VH-515 is 58 and 95 respectively.

Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515 Sensor Comparison
Sometimes, its hard to picture the gap in sensor measurements just by looking through specs. The photograph here should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the E-5 and VH-515.
As you can plainly see, each of these cameras offer the same exact megapixels albeit different sensor measurements. The E-5 contains the bigger sensor which should make getting shallower DOF less difficult. The older E-5 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-5 vs Olympus VH-515 Specifications
Olympus E-5 | Olympus VH-515 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Manufacturer | Olympus | Olympus |
Model type | Olympus E-5 | Olympus VH-515 |
Type | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Compact |
Released | 2011-02-03 | 2012-08-21 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Chip | TruePic V+ | TruePic III+ |
Sensor type | CMOS | 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 | 12MP | 12MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 and 16:9 | 4:3 and 16:9 |
Maximum resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4608 x 3456 |
Maximum native ISO | 6400 | 1600 |
Minimum native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW photos | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detect autofocus | ||
Contract detect autofocus | ||
Phase detect autofocus | ||
Total focus points | 11 | - |
Cross type focus points | 11 | - |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 26-130mm (5.0x) |
Max aperture | - | f/2.8-6.5 |
Macro focusing range | - | 5cm |
Amount of lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Fully Articulated | Fixed Type |
Display size | 3 inches | 3 inches |
Resolution of display | 920 thousand dots | 460 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch screen | ||
Display tech | HyperCrystal transmissive LCD | TFT Color LCD |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 100% | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | - |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60 secs | 4 secs |
Highest shutter speed | 1/8000 secs | 1/2000 secs |
Continuous shooting rate | 5.0 frames per sec | 2.0 frames per sec |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Set white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash distance | 18.00 m (at ISO 200) | 4.70 m |
Flash options | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Fill-in | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Highest flash synchronize | 1/250 secs | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps) |
Maximum video resolution | 1280x720 | 1920x1080 |
Video file format | Motion JPEG | MPEG-4, H.264 |
Microphone port | ||
Headphone port | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Eye-Fi Connected |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 800 gr (1.76 lb) | 152 gr (0.34 lb) |
Dimensions | 143 x 117 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") | 102 x 60 x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 56 | not tested |
DXO Color Depth rating | 21.6 | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 10.5 | not tested |
DXO Low light rating | 519 | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | 870 photos | - |
Type of battery | Battery Pack | - |
Battery ID | BLM-5 | LI-50B |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 12 sec) |
Time lapse feature | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II)/SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC |
Card slots | 2 | Single |
Price at launch | $1,700 | $648 |