Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-P1

Let's look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-500 and Olympus E-P1, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both of them are manufactured by Olympus. There is a considerable difference among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and E-P1 (12MP) but both cameras posses the identical sensor size (Four Thirds).

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The E-500 was manufactured 4 years prior to the E-P1 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus E-P1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving right into a complete comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-500 scores against the E-P1 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-500 & Olympus PEN E-P1. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Olympus E-P1 Gallery.

In case you're looking to carry around your camera frequently, you need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 has physical 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 E-P1 has sizing of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs).

See the Olympus E-500 and Olympus E-P1 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have at that moment. Below is a front view overall size comparison of the E-500 compared to the E-P1.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and E-P1 is 70 and 86 respectively.

Generally, it can be tough to see the contrast in sensor sizes merely by seeing technical specs. The image below will help provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and E-P1.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras come with the identical sensor size but not the same resolution. You can expect to see the Olympus E-P1 to show extra detail due to its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.