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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH7 front
Portability
96
Imaging
39
Features
36
Overall
37

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Expand to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Revealed October 2005
  • Additionally Known as EVOLT E-500
  • Replacement is Olympus E-510
Panasonic FH7
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-112mm (F3.1-6.5) lens
  • 126g - 95 x 56 x 19mm
  • Revealed September 2011
  • Also Known as Lumix DMC-FS22
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 Overview

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic FH7, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and FH7 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and FH7 (1/2.3") have different sensor measurements.

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The E-500 was released 6 years before the FH7 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FH7 being a Compact camera.

Before we go into a full comparison, here is a short overview of how the E-500 matches up against the FH7 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Panasonic FH7

 E-500 FH7 
Manually focus More accurate focusing

Reasons to pick Panasonic FH7 over the Olympus E-500

 FH7 E-500 
RevealedSeptember 2011October 2005Fresher by 71 months
Screen size3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution230k215kCrisper screen (+15k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic FH7

 E-500 FH7 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen No selfie screen

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 Physical Comparison

When you are looking to carry your camera frequently, you will need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 has got external measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") having a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Panasonic FH7 has sizing of 95mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") along with a weight of 126 grams (0.28 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic FH7 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the E-500 vs the FH7.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and FH7 is 70 and 96 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 Sensor Comparison

Normally, its tough to picture the contrast between sensor sizing just by reviewing specs. The visual underneath should provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and FH7.

All in all, both the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-500 due to its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Panasonic FH7 will deliver more detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will let you crop shots way more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic FH7 as a Portrait photography camera
48
focusing manually
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
doesn't have liveview
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
34
MP count good (16MP)
includes face detection autofocus
lack of manual focus
manual mode not possible
can't use external flash
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography details
Panasonic FH7 Street photography details
56
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
lighter than competition in class (479g)
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
max ISO too low (400)
67
image stabilization (Optical)
includes focus by touch
lighter than others (126g)
no moving screen
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography info
Panasonic FH7 Sports photography info
37
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect auto focus
doesn't have liveview
low fps (3.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
40
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (16MP)
includes tracking autofocus
max fps very slow (4.0 fps)
no shutter priority
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-500
Travel photography with Panasonic FH7
52
lighter than competition in class (479 grams)
built-in flash
does not have Time Lapse function
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
does not have a selfie friendly display
71
lighter than others (126 grams)
includes focus by touch
MP count good (16MP)
flash built-in
quite wide (28mm)
missing Timelapse mode
does not offer selfie friendly display
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic FH7 as a Landscape photography camera
43
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
small screen (2.5 inches)
doesn't have liveview
lack of image stabilization
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
max ISO too low (400)
does not have Time Lapse function
43
quite wide (28mm)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (16 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
can't swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
manual mode not possible
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
missing Timelapse mode
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic FH7 as a Vlogging camera
9
no video shooting
34
quite wide (28mm)
touchscreen enabled
image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detection autofocus
lighter than others (126 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
does not offer selfie friendly display
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external microphone socket
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FH7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic FH7
 Olympus E-500Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH7
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus E-500 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH7
Also Known as EVOLT E-500 Lumix DMC-FS22
Category Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Revealed 2005-10-21 2011-09-07
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Chip - Venus Engine IV
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 3264 x 2448 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 400 6400
Max enhanced ISO 1600 -
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 3 11
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.1-6.5
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 2.5" 3"
Resolution of display 215 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1600 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames/s 4.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 3.30 m
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution None 1280x720
Video data format - Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 479g (1.06 pounds) 126g (0.28 pounds)
Physical dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 95 x 56 x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 260 images
Battery type - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots One One
Retail pricing $600 $149