Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 II

Lets take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic FZ1000 II, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and FZ1000 II (20MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and FZ1000 II (1") have different sensor sizes.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The E-500 was introduced 14 years before the FZ1000 II which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 II being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going right into a detailed comparison, here is a short summary of how the E-500 grades against the FZ1000 II when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ1000 II. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Panasonic FZ1000 II Gallery.

If you are aiming to travel with your camera frequently, you will want to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 has got external dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FZ1000 II has proportions of 136mm x 97mm x 132mm (5.4" x 3.8" x 5.2") along with a weight of 808 grams (1.78 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic FZ1000 II in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you use at that moment. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the E-500 versus the FZ1000 II.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and FZ1000 II is 70 and 55 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very hard to imagine the gap in sensor dimensions purely by seeing specs. The pic here will help give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and FZ1000 II.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 using its bigger sensor is going to make getting bokeh less difficult and the Panasonic FZ1000 II will show greater detail using its extra 12 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.