Olympus E-500 vs Olympus FE-4030

On this page, we are contrasting the Olympus E-500 and Olympus FE-4030, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are manufactured by Olympus. There is a considerable difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and FE-4030 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and FE-4030 (1/2.3") offer different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was released 5 years earlier than the FE-4030 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus FE-4030 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick overview of how the E-500 grades against the FE-4030 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 & Olympus FE-4030. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Olympus FE-4030 Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-500 has outside measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Olympus FE-4030 has measurements of 93mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 146 grams (0.32 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-500 and Olympus FE-4030 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you select at that moment. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-500 against the FE-4030.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and FE-4030 is 70 and 95 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's tough to picture the gap in sensor measurements merely by researching a spec sheet. The graphic below may provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and FE-4030.

Clearly, both of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-500 featuring a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus FE-4030 will result in extra detail as a result of its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The older E-500 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.