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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Olympus SZ-15 front
Portability
88
Imaging
40
Features
50
Overall
44

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Push to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Launched October 2005
  • Alternate Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Renewed by Olympus E-510
Olympus SZ-15
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 23-483mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 250g - 108 x 70 x 40mm
  • Revealed June 2013
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 Overview

Its time to examine more in depth at the Olympus E-500 versus Olympus SZ-15, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are built by Olympus. There is a large difference among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and SZ-15 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and SZ-15 (1/2.3") feature different sensor sizes.

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The E-500 was launched 8 years before the SZ-15 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-15 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight into a full comparison, below is a simple summation of how the E-500 grades against the SZ-15 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Olympus SZ-15

 E-500 SZ-15 

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-15 over the Olympus E-500

 SZ-15 E-500 
RevealedJune 2013October 2005Newer by 93 months
Display dimension3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution460k215kCrisper display (+245k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Olympus SZ-15

 E-500 SZ-15 
Focus manually Very precise focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither provides Touch friendly display

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 Physical Comparison

In case you're aiming to travel with your camera frequently, you will want to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 provides physical 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-15 has proportions of 108mm x 70mm x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6") with a weight of 250 grams (0.55 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-500 versus Olympus SZ-15 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you select at the time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-500 and the SZ-15.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and SZ-15 is 70 and 88 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, its hard to picture the gap in sensor dimensions only by going through a spec sheet. The image below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and SZ-15.

As you can see, both cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 because of its larger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus SZ-15 will produce more detail utilizing its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography info
Olympus SZ-15 Portrait photography info
48
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
doesn't have liveview
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
44
you can focus manually
good megapixels (16MP)
comes with face detection autofocus
cannot use external flash
very small sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography details
Olympus SZ-15 Street photography details
56
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
lighter than competition (479g)
screen does not articulate
no image stabilization
low max ISO (400)
60
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others in class (250g)
fixed screen
very small sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography highlights
Olympus SZ-15 Sports photography highlights
37
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect autofocus
doesn't have liveview
max frames per second very slow (3.0 fps)
no image stabilization
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
53
incredible zoom range (23-483mm 21.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (16MP)
comes with tracking autofocus
very small sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography factors
Olympus SZ-15 Travel photography factors
52
lighter than competition (479 grams)
has built in flash
missing Time Lapse recording
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
68
lighter than others in class (250g)
good megapixels (16MP)
flash built-in
decently wide (23mm)
very long zoom (483mm)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
display isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-500
Landscape photography with Olympus SZ-15
43
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
screen is somewhat small (2.5")
doesn't have liveview
no image stabilization
megapixel count low (8MP)
low max ISO (400)
missing Time Lapse recording
49
you can focus manually
decently wide (23mm)
pretty good screen size (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
doesn't have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 Vlogging information
Olympus SZ-15 Vlogging information
9
no video recording
34
decently wide (23mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than others in class (250 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
display isn't selfie friendly
doesn't have external microphone socket
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SZ-15 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Olympus SZ-15
 Olympus E-500Olympus SZ-15
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-500 Olympus SZ-15
Also called EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2005-10-21 2013-06-21
Physical type 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 surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3264 x 2448 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 400 3200
Highest boosted ISO 1600 -
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 3 -
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 23-483mm (21.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.8-5.9
Macro focus range - 5cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 2.5 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 215 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display tech - LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 8 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames per second 10.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 3.50 m
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (30fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 480fps (176 x 128), 240fps (384 x 288)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - AVI MPEG4, Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 479g (1.06 lbs) 250g (0.55 lbs)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 108 x 70 x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" 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 model - SLB-10A
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Double)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Cost at launch $600 $200