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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 front
Portability
74
Imaging
52
Features
66
Overall
57

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Push to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Revealed October 2005
  • Also referred to as EVOLT E-500
  • Updated by Olympus E-510
Panasonic G5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 160 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 396g - 120 x 83 x 71mm
  • Released July 2012
  • Superseded the Panasonic G3
  • New Model is Panasonic G6
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 Overview

Below is a detailed review of the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic G5, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a crucial gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and G5 (16MP) but both cameras offer the identical sensor measurements (Four Thirds).

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The E-500 was revealed 7 years earlier than the G5 and that is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic G5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting into a full comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-500 scores against the G5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Panasonic G5

 E-500 G5 

Reasons to pick Panasonic G5 over the Olympus E-500

 G5 E-500 
ReleasedJuly 2012October 2005More recent by 82 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen size3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution920k215kCrisper screen (+705k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic G5

 E-500 G5 
Manual focus Very accurate focus

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to lug around your camera often, you should think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 provides exterior measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Panasonic G5 has dimensions of 120mm x 83mm x 71mm (4.7" x 3.3" x 2.8") and a weight of 396 grams (0.87 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic G5 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the E-500 versus the G5.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and G5 is 70 and 74 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its difficult to imagine the gap between sensor measurements purely by reading through a spec sheet. The visual below may give you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and G5.

Clearly, each of the cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit different megapixels. You should expect the Panasonic G5 to resolve more detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic G5 as a Portrait photography camera
48
you can focus manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
does not have liveview
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
71
manual focus
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection autofocus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography advice
Panasonic G5 Street photography advice
56
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
lighter than competitors in class (479g)
screen does not articulate
lack of image stabilization
low max ISO (400)
66
fully articulated screen
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
provides focus by touch
lack of image stabilization
more heavy than competition in class (396g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography info
Panasonic G5 Sports photography info
37
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
sensor has phase detect auto focus
does not have liveview
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
lack of image stabilization
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
51
decent megapixels (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
low fps (6.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-500
Travel photography with Panasonic G5
52
lighter than competitors in class (479 grams)
has built in flash
missing Time Lapse function
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
66
provides focus by touch
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly display
no Timelapse recording
more heavy than competition in class (396g)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 Landscape photography details
Panasonic G5 Landscape photography details
43
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
screen is small (2.5 inches)
does not have liveview
lack of image stabilization
megapixel count low (8 megapixels)
low max ISO (400)
missing Time Lapse function
65
manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is decent (3")
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
lack of image stabilization
no Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic G5 as a Vlogging camera
9
lack of video recording
62
selfie friendly display
touchscreen
comes with face detection autofocus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lack of image stabilization
no external microphone jack
more heavy than competition in class (396g)
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic G5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic G5
 Olympus E-500Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus E-500 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
Alternative name EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Entry-Level Mirrorless
Revealed 2005-10-21 2012-07-17
Body design Mid-size SLR SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Powered by - Venus Engine VII FHD
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Four Thirds
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 3264 x 2448 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 400 12800
Max boosted ISO 1600 -
Lowest native ISO 100 160
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 3 23
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
Number of lenses 45 107
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.1
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen diagonal 2.5" 3"
Resolution of screen 215 thousand dot 920 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen tech - TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames per second 6.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 10.50 m
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180 seconds 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 30, 25fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 50, 30, 25fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25fps
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone input
Headphone input
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 seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 479 gr (1.06 lb) 396 gr (0.87 lb)
Physical dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 120 x 83 x 71mm (4.7" x 3.3" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 61
DXO Color Depth score not tested 21.4
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 11.6
DXO Low light score not tested 618
Other
Battery life - 320 photos
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Time lapse shooting
Storage media Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Launch price $600 $699