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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Olympus SZ-12 front
Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Bump to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Introduced October 2005
  • Other Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Successor is Olympus E-510
Olympus SZ-12
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Announced January 2012
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 Overview

In this article, we will be comparing the Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Olympus. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and SZ-12 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and SZ-12 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-500 was announced 7 years earlier than the SZ-12 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a in depth comparison, below is a concise overview of how the E-500 grades vs the SZ-12 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Olympus SZ-12

 E-500 SZ-12 
Focus manually More precise focus

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Olympus E-500

 SZ-12 E-500 
AnnouncedJanuary 2012October 2005Fresher by 75 months
Screen sizing3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution460k215kClearer screen (+245k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Olympus SZ-12

 E-500 SZ-12 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch screen Neither contains Touch screen

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 Physical Comparison

In case you're aiming to carry your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 has got external 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 SZ-12 has proportions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") having a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are employing at that moment. The following is the front view sizing comparison of the E-500 and the SZ-12.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and SZ-12 is 70 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is very difficult to visualise the difference in sensor sizing just by going through specifications. The visual underneath will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and SZ-12.

Plainly, the 2 cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-500 with its bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus SZ-12 will show more detail with its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older E-500 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-500
Portrait photography with Olympus SZ-12
48
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
does not have liveview
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
33
resolution is good (14MP)
supports face detect focusing
focusing manually not possible
lack of manual exposure
no external flash support
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography details
Olympus SZ-12 Street photography details
56
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
lighter than average in class (479g)
no moving screen
no image stabilization
low maximum ISO (400)
60
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition (226g)
fixed screen
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Sports photography camera
Olympus SZ-12 as a Sports photography camera
37
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has phase detect auto focus
does not have liveview
max fps low (3.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
megapixel count low (8MP)
40
long zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
resolution is good (14MP)
supports tracking focus
slow frames per second (1.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
bad battery (220 CIPA)
no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Travel photography camera
Olympus SZ-12 as a Travel photography camera
52
lighter than average in class (479g)
flash built-in
does not have Timelapse function
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
65
lighter than competition (226 grams)
resolution is good (14MP)
flash built-in
decently wide (25mm)
great zoom (600mm)
does not have Timelapse mode
bad battery (220 shots)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus SZ-12 as a Landscape photography camera
43
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
screen is somewhat small (2.5 inches)
does not have liveview
no image stabilization
megapixel count low (8MP)
low maximum ISO (400)
does not have Timelapse function
40
decently wide (25mm)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
resolution is good (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
lack of manual exposure
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
bad battery (220 CIPA)
does not have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 Vlogging details
Olympus SZ-12 Vlogging details
9
can't record video
31
decently wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports face detect focusing
lighter than competition (226g)
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
video resolution low (1280 x 720 resolution)
does not have microphone jack
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-12 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Olympus SZ-12
 Olympus E-500Olympus SZ-12
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-500 Olympus SZ-12
Otherwise known as EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2005-10-21 2012-01-10
Body design Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 -
Full resolution 3264 x 2448 4288 x 3216
Max native ISO 400 1600
Max boosted ISO 1600 -
Minimum native ISO 100 80
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points 3 -
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Total lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display size 2.5 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 215k dot 460k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech - TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 4s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1700s
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames per sec 1.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) -
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps)
Max video resolution None 1280x720
Video data format - MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 479g (1.06 lb) 226g (0.50 lb)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 220 photos
Battery format - Battery Pack
Battery model - LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Retail pricing $600 $350