Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3
70 Imaging
41 Features
34 Overall
38


88 Imaging
41 Features
51 Overall
45
Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Expand to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
- Released October 2005
- Additionally Known as EVOLT E-500
- Renewed by Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 125 - 6400
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 3840 x 2160 video
- 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
- 271g - 109 x 63 x 42mm
- Revealed February 2016
- Previous Model is Olympus SH-2

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3 Overview
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.

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.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3 Gallery
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.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Olympus SH-3
E-500 | SH-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | Dial precise focus |
Reasons to pick Olympus SH-3 over the Olympus E-500
SH-3 | E-500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Revealed | February 2016 | ![]() | October 2005 | Newer by 125 months |
Screen dimensions | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.5") |
Screen resolution | 460k | ![]() | 215k | Sharper screen (+245k dot) |
Touch screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Olympus SH-3
E-500 | SH-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed screen |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Lack of selfie screen |
Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3 Physical Comparison
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.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3 Sensor Comparison
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.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus SH-3 Specifications
Olympus E-500 | Olympus Stylus SH-3 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Company | Olympus | Olympus |
Model type | Olympus E-500 | Olympus Stylus SH-3 |
Also called as | EVOLT E-500 | - |
Category | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Superzoom |
Released | 2005-10-21 | 2016-02-08 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Powered by | - | TruePic VII |
Sensor type | CCD | BSI-CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 8MP | 16MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Highest Possible resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 4608 x 3456 |
Maximum native ISO | 400 | 6400 |
Maximum enhanced ISO | 1600 | - |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 125 |
RAW format | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
Continuous autofocus | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Tracking autofocus | ||
Autofocus selectice | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Autofocus multi area | ||
Live view autofocus | ||
Face detect focus | ||
Contract detect focus | ||
Phase detect focus | ||
Total focus points | 3 | - |
Lens | ||
Lens support | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 25-600mm (24.0x) |
Maximum aperture | - | f/3.0-6.9 |
Macro focusing distance | - | 3cm |
Number of lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display size | 2.5" | 3" |
Display resolution | 215k dots | 460k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch screen | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 95 percent | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.45x | - |
Features | ||
Min shutter speed | 60 secs | 30 secs |
Max shutter speed | 1/4000 secs | 1/2000 secs |
Continuous shutter rate | 3.0fps | 11.5fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Custom white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash distance | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) | 8.30 m (at ISO 3200) |
Flash modes | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, redeye reduction, fill-in, off |
Hot shoe | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Max flash synchronize | 1/180 secs | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | - | 3840 x 2160 (15 fps), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
Maximum video resolution | None | 3840x2160 |
Video data format | - | H.264 |
Mic 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 | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 479g (1.06 lbs) | 271g (0.60 lbs) |
Physical dimensions | 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") | 109 x 63 x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") |
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 | - | 380 images |
Type of battery | - | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | - | LI-92B |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD, SDHC, SDXC, Internal Memory |
Card slots | One | One |
Cost at release | $600 | $579 |