Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL2

Below, we are looking at the Olympus E-500 and Olympus E-PL2, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both of them are sold by Olympus. There is a noticeable difference among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and E-PL2 (12MP) but they feature the exact same sensor size (Four Thirds).

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The E-500 was unveiled 6 years prior to the E-PL2 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus E-PL2 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting straight into a full comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-500 scores versus the E-PL2 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-500 & Olympus PEN E-PL2. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Olympus E-PL2 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera regularly, you'll need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 provides external dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") accompanied by a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Olympus E-PL2 has dimensions of 114mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 362 grams (0.80 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-500 and Olympus E-PL2 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are utilising at that time. Below is the front view physical size comparison of the E-500 compared to the E-PL2.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and E-PL2 is 70 and 85 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is very difficult to envision the difference in sensor measurements simply by seeing specifications. The visual underneath will give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and E-PL2.

Plainly, both of the cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements but not the same resolution. You can expect to see the Olympus E-PL2 to provide greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older E-500 will be behind in sensor innovation.