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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 front
Portability
55
Imaging
51
Features
80
Overall
62

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Boost to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Revealed October 2005
  • Alternate Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-510
Panasonic FZ1000
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Expand to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 25-400mm (F2.8-4.0) lens
  • 831g - 137 x 99 x 131mm
  • Revealed June 2014
  • Updated by Panasonic FZ2500
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Overview

On this page, we are matching up the Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap among the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and FZ1000 (20MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and FZ1000 (1") have totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-500 was launched 9 years prior to the FZ1000 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise summation of how the E-500 matches up vs the FZ1000 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Panasonic FZ1000

 E-500 FZ1000 

Reasons to pick Panasonic FZ1000 over the Olympus E-500

 FZ1000 E-500 
RevealedJune 2014October 2005More recent by 105 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display dimensions3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution921k215kCrisper display (+706k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic FZ1000

 E-500 FZ1000 
Manual focus Very accurate focusing
Touch friendly display Neither contains Touch friendly display

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 has got physical measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ1000 has sizing of 137mm x 99mm x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2") having a weight of 831 grams (1.83 lbs).

See the Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you choose at the time. The following is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-500 and the FZ1000.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and FZ1000 is 70 and 55 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it is tough to envision the difference in sensor measurements only by looking through specs. The visual below will help give you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and FZ1000.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-500 featuring a larger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic FZ1000 will render more detail utilizing its extra 12MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The older E-500 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography features
Panasonic FZ1000 Portrait photography features
48
has manual focus
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
doesn't have liveview
low resolution sensor (8 megapixels)
70
manual focus
sensor resolution is decent (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
provides face detect focus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-500
Street photography with Panasonic FZ1000
56
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
lighter than competitors in class (479g)
screen does not articulate
no image stabilization
low max ISO (400)
70
screen can move to multiple angles
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW formats
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography features
Panasonic FZ1000 Sports photography features
37
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
has phase detect auto focus
doesn't have liveview
low fps (3.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
low resolution sensor (8MP)
67
amazing zoom range (25-400mm 16.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
provides tracking focus
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography advice
Panasonic FZ1000 Travel photography advice
52
lighter than competitors in class (479 grams)
has built in flash
missing Time Lapse mode
low resolution sensor (8MP)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
65
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
flash built-in
selfie friendly screen
pretty wide (25mm)
very long reach (400mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic FZ1000 as a Landscape photography camera
43
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
small screen (2.5 inches)
doesn't have liveview
no image stabilization
low resolution sensor (8 megapixels)
low max ISO (400)
missing Time Lapse mode
64
manual focus
pretty wide (25mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW formats
can't change lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic FZ1000 as a Vlogging camera
9
lack of video recording
66
pretty wide (25mm)
selfie friendly screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detect focus
high quality video (3840 x 2160 pxls)
has microphone socket
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic FZ1000 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic FZ1000
 Olympus E-500Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus E-500 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
Also Known as EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2005-10-21 2014-06-12
Physical type Mid-size SLR SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - Venus Engine
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 3264 x 2448 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 400 12800
Max enhanced ISO 1600 25600
Min native ISO 100 125
RAW files
Min enhanced ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 3 49
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-400mm (16.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.8-4.0
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Total lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen size 2.5 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 215 thousand dots 921 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 60 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shutter rate 3.0fps 12.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 13.50 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions - 3840x2160 (30p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p) 1280x720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution None 3840x2160
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
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) 831g (1.83 pounds)
Physical dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 137 x 99 x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 64
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.1
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 11.7
DXO Low light rating not tested 517
Other
Battery life - 360 pictures
Style of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - DMW-BLC12PP
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card -
Card slots 1 1
Launch cost $600 $800