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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1

Portability
70
Imaging
42
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 front
Portability
81
Imaging
49
Features
57
Overall
52

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 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
  • Released October 2005
  • Additionally referred to as EVOLT E-500
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-510
Panasonic GH1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600 (Increase to 3200)
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 385g - 124 x 90 x 45mm
  • Introduced July 2009
  • Updated by Panasonic GH2
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 Overview

Its time to examine more closely at the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic GH1, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and GH1 (12MP) but they enjoy the exact same sensor dimensions (Four Thirds).

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The E-500 was revealed 4 years earlier than the GH1 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic GH1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting in to a full comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-500 grades vs the GH1 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Panasonic GH1

 E-500 GH1 

Reasons to pick Panasonic GH1 over the Olympus E-500

 GH1 E-500 
IntroducedJuly 2009October 2005More recent by 45 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen dimension3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution460k215kCrisper screen (+245k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Panasonic GH1

 E-500 GH1 
Manual focus More accurate focus
Touch screen Neither offers Touch screen

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 Physical Comparison

If you're aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-500 offers outer measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Panasonic GH1 has measurements of 124mm x 90mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8") accompanied by a weight of 385 grams (0.85 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-500 versus Panasonic GH1 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-500 against the GH1.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and GH1 is 70 and 81 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is very difficult to envision the contrast between sensor measurements merely by checking specifications. The graphic here will provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and GH1.

Plainly, the two cameras have got the exact same sensor measurements albeit not the same MP. You can expect the Panasonic GH1 to give you greater detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures much more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic GH1 as a Portrait photography camera
49
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
no liveview feature
sensor resolution low (8 megapixels)
59
has manual focus
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography features
Panasonic GH1 Street photography features
57
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
lighter than competitors in class (479 grams)
fixed screen
no image stabilization
maximum ISO low (400)
72
screen can move to multiple angles
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
does not have image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic GH1 as a Sports photography camera
37
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
sensor has phase detect auto focus
no liveview feature
max frames per second very slow (3.0 fps)
no image stabilization
sensor resolution low (8MP)
32
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
continuous shooting slow (3.0 frames per second)
does not have image stabilization
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
not so great battery (320 CIPA)
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography highlights
Panasonic GH1 Travel photography highlights
52
lighter than competitors in class (479 grams)
has built in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse function
sensor resolution low (8MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
58
flash built-in
selfie friendly display
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
not so great battery (320 shots)
megapixel count low (12MP)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic GH1 as a Landscape photography camera
43
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
screen is small (2.5")
no liveview feature
no image stabilization
sensor resolution low (8MP)
maximum ISO low (400)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
55
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3")
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
does not have image stabilization
megapixel count low (12MP)
not so great battery (320 shots)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-500
Vlogging with Panasonic GH1
9
no video recording
72
selfie friendly display
good video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external mic support
does not have image stabilization
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Olympus E-500 vs Panasonic GH1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Panasonic GH1
 Olympus E-500Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
General Information
Company Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus E-500 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
Also called as EVOLT E-500 -
Class Advanced DSLR Advanced Mirrorless
Released 2005-10-21 2009-07-10
Physical type Mid-size SLR SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip - Venus Engine HD
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Four Thirds
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 18.89 x 14.48mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 273.5mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3264 x 2448 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 400 1600
Maximum boosted ISO 1600 3200
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds
Amount of lenses 45 107
Crop factor 2.1 1.9
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen sizing 2.5 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 215 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 60 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames per second 3.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 10.50 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180 secs 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - AVCHD
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 479 grams (1.06 lbs) 385 grams (0.85 lbs)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 124 x 90 x 45mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 1.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 64
DXO Color Depth score not tested 21.6
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 11.6
DXO Low light score not tested 772
Other
Battery life - 320 pictures
Battery style - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC
Card slots One One
Pricing at launch $600 $949