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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Olympus SZ-10 front
Portability
90
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Expand to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Released October 2005
  • Alternative Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Replacement is Olympus E-510
Olympus SZ-10
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-504mm (F3.1-4.4) lens
  • 215g - 106 x 67 x 38mm
  • Launched February 2011
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 Overview

Below, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-500 and Olympus SZ-10, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are manufactured by Olympus. There exists a big gap among the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and SZ-10 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and SZ-10 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor size.

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The E-500 was unveiled 6 years before the SZ-10 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-10 being a Compact camera.

Before we go in to a in-depth comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-500 grades versus the SZ-10 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Olympus SZ-10

 E-500 SZ-10 
Focus manually Very precise focus

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-10 over the Olympus E-500

 SZ-10 E-500 
LaunchedFebruary 2011October 2005More recent by 64 months
Screen dimension3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution460k215kClearer screen (+245k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Olympus SZ-10

 E-500 SZ-10 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly screen No Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 provides outside 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 SZ-10 has specifications of 106mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") with a weight of 215 grams (0.47 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-500 and Olympus SZ-10 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the E-500 vs the SZ-10.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and SZ-10 is 70 and 90 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is difficult to visualize the gap in sensor measurements purely by checking out a spec sheet. The visual here might offer you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and SZ-10.

As you can see, the two cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-500 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh easier and the Olympus SZ-10 will show more detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop shots much more aggressively. The older E-500 will be behind with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography features
Olympus SZ-10 Portrait photography features
48
focusing manually
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
doesn't have liveview
MP count low (8MP)
33
MP count decent (14MP)
has face detection autofocus
manual focus not available
lack of manual mode
can't use external flash
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Street photography camera
Olympus SZ-10 as a Street photography camera
56
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
lighter than competition in class (479 grams)
screen does not articulate
no image stabilization
max ISO too low (400)
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competitors in class (215g)
fixed screen
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography advice
Olympus SZ-10 Sports photography advice
37
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
sensor has phase detect AF
doesn't have liveview
slow frames per second (3.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
MP count low (8 megapixels)
40
amazing zoom range (28-504mm 18.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
has tracking autofocus
max fps very slow (1.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority mode
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
bad battery pack (220 CIPA)
has no phase detect autofocus
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Travel photography camera
Olympus SZ-10 as a Travel photography camera
52
lighter than competition in class (479 grams)
flash built-in
missing Time Lapse recording
MP count low (8 megapixels)
display isn't selfie friendly
65
lighter than competitors in class (215 grams)
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
pretty wide (28mm)
long reach (504mm)
no Time Lapse recording
bad battery pack (220 per charge)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus SZ-10 as a Landscape photography camera
43
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
small screen (2.5")
doesn't have liveview
no image stabilization
MP count low (8MP)
max ISO too low (400)
missing Time Lapse recording
40
pretty wide (28mm)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count decent (14MP)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
lack of manual mode
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
bad battery pack (220 shots)
no Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Vlogging camera
Olympus SZ-10 as a Vlogging camera
9
can't shoot video
31
pretty wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detection autofocus
lighter than competitors in class (215 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
video resolution low (1280 x 720 resolution)
no external mic socket
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-10 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Olympus SZ-10
 Olympus E-500Olympus SZ-10
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus E-500 Olympus SZ-10
Also Known as EVOLT E-500 -
Category Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Released 2005-10-21 2011-02-08
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Chip - TruePic III+
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 8MP 14MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Max resolution 3264 x 2448 4288 x 3216
Max native ISO 400 1600
Max enhanced ISO 1600 -
Min native ISO 100 80
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-504mm (18.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.1-4.4
Macro focusing range - 1cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 2.5 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 215k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen technology - TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 4s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shutter rate 3.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 7.10 m
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps)
Max video resolution None 1280x720
Video format - Motion JPEG
Mic 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 479g (1.06 lbs) 215g (0.47 lbs)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 106 x 67 x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 220 photographs
Battery type - Battery Pack
Battery ID - LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Single Single
Pricing at release $600 $300