Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH1

Below is a in-depth overview of the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic FH1, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a crucial gap between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and FH1 (12MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and FH1 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-500 was brought out 5 years before the FH1 and that is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FH1 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight into a in depth comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the E-500 scores vs the FH1 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Panasonic FH1 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-500 offers 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 FH1 has measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 163 grams (0.36 lbs).

See the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic FH1 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-500 against the FH1.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and FH1 is 70 and 95 respectively.

Typically, it is very difficult to visualise the difference between sensor measurements only by reading specs. The photograph here will help give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and FH1.

All in all, each of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-500 due to its larger sensor will make achieving bokeh less difficult and the Panasonic FH1 will offer you more detail having its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will help you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.