Olympus E-500 vs Olympus VR-340

Let's look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-500 vs Olympus VR-340, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are manufactured by Olympus. There is a crucial difference between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and VR-340 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and VR-340 (1/2.3") possess different sensor measurements.

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The E-500 was brought out 7 years before the VR-340 which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus VR-340 being a Compact camera.

Before we go in to a more detailed comparison, below is a quick summation of how the E-500 grades versus the VR-340 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 and Olympus VR-340. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Olympus VR-340 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to travel with your camera regularly, you will have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 offers physical dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Olympus VR-340 has sizing of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-500 vs Olympus VR-340 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Underneath is the front view sizing comparison of the E-500 compared to the VR-340.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and VR-340 is 70 and 96 respectively.

Generally, its tough to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions just by reading through a spec sheet. The pic here may give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and VR-340.

Clearly, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Olympus VR-340 will resolve greater detail having its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.