Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G3

Here is a extended review of the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic G3, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and G3 (16MP) but they use the exact same sensor sizing (Four Thirds).

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The E-500 was announced 6 years prior to the G3 and that is quite a serious difference 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 G3 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a short overview of how the E-500 matches up versus the G3 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Panasonic G3 Gallery.

If you are looking to carry your camera, you will need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 provides outer dimensions 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 G3 has proportions of 115mm x 84mm x 47mm (4.5" x 3.3" x 1.9") having a weight of 336 grams (0.74 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic G3 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have attached at that moment. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the E-500 compared to the G3.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and G3 is 70 and 83 respectively.

Quite often, it is hard to visualise the difference between sensor sizing simply by looking at a spec sheet. The visual here should provide you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and G3.

Clearly, each of the cameras have got the exact same sensor measurements but not the same megapixels. You can anticipate the Panasonic G3 to resolve more detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.