Olympus E-500 vs Olympus TG-3

Below is a complete overview of the Olympus E-500 and Olympus TG-3, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Waterproof and they are both designed by Olympus. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and TG-3 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and TG-3 (1/2.3") possess different sensor measurements.

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing

The E-500 was unveiled 9 years prior to the TG-3 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus TG-3 being a Compact camera.

Before getting in to a more detailed comparison, below is a concise view of how the E-500 grades vs the TG-3 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-500 & Olympus Tough TG-3. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Olympus TG-3 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 has external 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) whilst the Olympus TG-3 has dimensions of 112mm x 66mm x 31mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.2") with a weight of 247 grams (0.54 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-500 and Olympus TG-3 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have chosen at that time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-500 and the TG-3.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and TG-3 is 70 and 90 respectively.

Generally, it can be difficult to imagine the gap between sensor measurements merely by checking technical specs. The graphic below should give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and TG-3.

As you can tell, each of the cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-500 with its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus TG-3 will resolve more detail having an extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop shots far more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.