Olympus E-500 vs Olympus TG-860

Following is a thorough review of the Olympus E-500 and Olympus TG-860, one is a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Waterproof and both are offered by Olympus. There is a huge difference between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and TG-860 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and TG-860 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The E-500 was revealed 10 years prior to the TG-860 which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus TG-860 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before going in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the E-500 scores vs the TG-860 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-500 and Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Olympus TG-860 Gallery.

In case you're going to carry around your camera frequently, you should factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 comes with 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) while the Olympus TG-860 has sizing of 110mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 224 grams (0.49 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-500 and Olympus TG-860 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you use at that moment. Below is the front view scale comparison of the E-500 vs the TG-860.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and TG-860 is 70 and 91 respectively.

Generally, it is very difficult to envision the gap between sensor sizes only by checking technical specs. The pic below might provide you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and TG-860.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-500 having a larger sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Olympus TG-860 will resolve extra detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics much more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.