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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Bump to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Launched October 2005
  • Additionally referred to as EVOLT E-500
  • Updated by Olympus E-510
Olympus E-PL5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 325g - 111 x 64 x 38mm
  • Announced September 2012
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 Overview

In this article, we will be analyzing the Olympus E-500 versus Olympus E-PL5, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both of them are sold by Olympus. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and E-PL5 (16MP) but they possess the same exact sensor sizing (Four Thirds).

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The E-500 was brought out 8 years earlier than the E-PL5 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a detailed comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-500 grades vs the E-PL5 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Olympus E-PL5

 E-500 E-PL5 

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Olympus E-500

 E-PL5 E-500 
AnnouncedSeptember 2012October 2005More modern by 84 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen sizing3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution460k215kSharper screen (+245k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Olympus E-PL5

 E-500 E-PL5 
Manual focus More accurate focusing

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is going to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 provides external measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") having a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-PL5 has sizing of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-500 versus Olympus E-PL5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilising during that time. Underneath is the front view measurement comparison of the E-500 against the E-PL5.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and E-PL5 is 70 and 88 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is very difficult to visualize the difference in sensor sizes just by going through a spec sheet. The picture here should provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and E-PL5.

As you can see, the two cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing albeit different megapixels. You can count on the Olympus E-PL5 to provide extra detail having its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography highlights
Olympus E-PL5 Portrait photography highlights
48
focusing manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
no liveview feature
sensor resolution not great (8 megapixels)
71
has manual focus
MP count decent (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports face detection autofocus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography details
Olympus E-PL5 Street photography details
56
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
lighter than others in class (479g)
screen does not articulate
lack of image stabilization
low maximum ISO (400)
85
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
includes focus by touch
great ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography info
Olympus E-PL5 Sports photography info
37
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
sensor has phase detect AF
no liveview feature
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (8MP)
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count decent (16MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports tracking autofocus
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography info
Olympus E-PL5 Travel photography info
52
lighter than others in class (479 grams)
has built in flash
missing Time Lapse function
sensor resolution not great (8MP)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
75
includes focus by touch
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
screen is selfie friendly
doesn't have Timelapse mode
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-500
Landscape photography with Olympus E-PL5
43
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
screen is small (2.5 inches)
no liveview feature
lack of image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (8 megapixels)
low maximum ISO (400)
missing Time Lapse function
74
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW files
doesn't have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 Vlogging details
Olympus E-PL5 Vlogging details
9
lack of video recording
78
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen enabled
image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detection autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't have external microphone support
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus E-PL5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Olympus E-PL5
 Olympus E-500Olympus PEN E-PL5
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-500 Olympus PEN E-PL5
Also Known as EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Entry-Level Mirrorless
Launched 2005-10-21 2012-09-17
Physical type Mid-size SLR Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Four Thirds
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3
Full resolution 3264 x 2448 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 400 25600
Max boosted ISO 1600 -
Minimum native ISO 100 200
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 3 35
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
Amount of lenses 45 107
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.1
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen diagonal 2.5" 3"
Resolution of screen 215 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic (optional)
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 60s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting rate 3.0fps 8.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1)
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels)
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180s 1/250s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG
Microphone support
Headphone support
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
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 479 gr (1.06 lb) 325 gr (0.72 lb)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 72
DXO Color Depth score not tested 22.8
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.3
DXO Low light score not tested 889
Other
Battery life - 360 images
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery model - BLS-5
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Launch cost $600 $400