Olympus E-500 vs Olympus VH-515

The following is a comprehensive assessment of the Olympus E-500 and Olympus VH-515, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are designed by Olympus. There is a big difference between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and VH-515 (12MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and VH-515 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor measurements.

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The E-500 was brought out 7 years earlier than the VH-515 which is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the E-500 matches up against the VH-515 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-500 and Olympus VH-515. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Olympus VH-515 Gallery.

If you're aiming to travel with your camera regularly, you'll need to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 features outside measurements 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 VH-515 has proportions of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 and Olympus VH-515 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you select at that moment. Following is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-500 against the VH-515.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and VH-515 is 70 and 95 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is very difficult to picture the difference between sensor dimensions only by looking at technical specs. The pic below may give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and VH-515.

As you have seen, both of those cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 because of its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF less difficult and the Olympus VH-515 will resolve more detail having its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will help you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind in sensor technology.