Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3

Lets look more closely at the Olympus E-500 and Olympus SH-3, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both manufactured by Olympus. There exists a crucial gap between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and SH-3 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and SH-3 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizes.

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The E-500 was introduced 11 years prior to the SH-3 which is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the E-500 matches up against the SH-3 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-500 and Olympus Stylus SH-3. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Olympus SH-3 Gallery.

When you are planning to travel with your camera regularly, you're going to have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 has got outer measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Olympus SH-3 has sizing of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-500 and Olympus SH-3 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you use during that time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-500 and the SH-3.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and SH-3 is 70 and 88 respectively.

Typically, it's hard to imagine the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by checking specifications. The image here will provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and SH-3.

To sum up, the 2 cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field easier and the Olympus SH-3 will resolve greater detail using its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.