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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Olympus XZ-2 iHS front
Portability
85
Imaging
37
Features
67
Overall
49

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Raise to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Revealed October 2005
  • Alternate Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Newer Model is Olympus E-510
Olympus XZ-2 iHS
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/1.7" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28-112mm (F1.8-2.5) lens
  • 346g - 113 x 65 x 48mm
  • Revealed December 2012
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS Overview

Following is a thorough overview of the Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are sold by Olympus. There is a large difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and XZ-2 iHS (12MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and XZ-2 iHS (1/1.7") posses totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-500 was unveiled 8 years before the XZ-2 iHS which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus XZ-2 iHS being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-500 scores vs the XZ-2 iHS when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Olympus XZ-2 iHS

 E-500 XZ-2 iHS 

Reasons to pick Olympus XZ-2 iHS over the Olympus E-500

 XZ-2 iHS E-500 
RevealedDecember 2012October 2005More modern by 87 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display dimensions3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution920k215kClearer display (+705k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Olympus XZ-2 iHS

 E-500 XZ-2 iHS 
Manually focus More precise focus
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS Physical Comparison

For anyone who is planning to carry around your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 features exterior dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Olympus XZ-2 iHS has specifications of 113mm x 65mm x 48mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.9") having a weight of 346 grams (0.76 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have at the time. Here is a front view measurement comparison of the E-500 versus the XZ-2 iHS.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and XZ-2 iHS is 70 and 85 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS Sensor Comparison

Generally, it can be tough to see the contrast in sensor sizes just by looking through a spec sheet. The pic here will help provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and XZ-2 iHS.

Clearly, both the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-500 using its larger sensor will make getting bokeh simpler and the Olympus XZ-2 iHS will render extra detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be behind in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography information
Olympus XZ-2 iHS Portrait photography information
48
has manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
no liveview feature
low megapixels (8 megapixels)
46
has manual focus
features face detect autofocus
exports RAW files
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/1.7")
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Street photography camera
Olympus XZ-2 iHS as a Street photography camera
56
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
lighter than others in class (479 grams)
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
max ISO too low (400)
66
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW files
sensor is small (1/1.7")
more heavy than others (346g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Sports photography camera
Olympus XZ-2 iHS as a Sports photography camera
37
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
no liveview feature
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 fps)
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (8MP)
43
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features tracking focus
good battery power (340 per charge)
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
sensor is small (1/1.7")
lacks phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography information
Olympus XZ-2 iHS Travel photography information
52
lighter than others in class (479g)
built-in flash
doesn't have Timelapse mode
low megapixels (8 megapixels)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
61
good battery power (340 per charge)
built-in flash
pretty wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
lack of Timelapse mode
more heavy than others (346g)
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus XZ-2 iHS as a Landscape photography camera
43
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
screen is somewhat small (2.5")
no liveview feature
does not have image stabilization
low megapixels (8 megapixels)
max ISO too low (400)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
55
has manual focus
pretty wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
screen is a decent size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW files
good battery power (340 CIPA)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
sensor is small (1/1.7")
lack of Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-500
Vlogging with Olympus XZ-2 iHS
9
no video shooting
36
pretty wide (28mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
features face detect autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
comes with microphone support
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
more heavy than others (346 grams)
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Olympus E-500 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Olympus XZ-2 iHS
 Olympus E-500Olympus XZ-2 iHS
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-500 Olympus XZ-2 iHS
Also called EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Revealed 2005-10-21 2012-12-18
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/1.7"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 7.44 x 5.58mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 41.5mm²
Sensor resolution 8MP 12MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3
Maximum resolution 3264 x 2448 3968 x 2976
Maximum native ISO 400 12800
Maximum boosted ISO 1600 -
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 3 35
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/1.8-2.5
Macro focus range - 1cm
Total lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 4.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 2.5" 3"
Screen resolution 215 thousand dots 920 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic (optional)
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 60s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames/s -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 8.60 m (ISO 800)
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 479g (1.06 pounds) 346g (0.76 pounds)
Physical dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 113 x 65 x 48mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 49
DXO Color Depth score not tested 20.4
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 11.3
DXO Low light score not tested 216
Other
Battery life - 340 photographs
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Battery model - Li-90B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Price at launch $600 $450