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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Pentax 645D front
Portability
50
Imaging
76
Features
52
Overall
66

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Boost to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Announced October 2005
  • Other Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Later Model is Olympus E-510
Pentax 645D
(Full Review)
  • 40MP - Medium format Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 200 - 1600
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • No Video
  • Pentax 645AF2 Mount
  • 1480g - 156 x 117 x 119mm
  • Revealed March 2010
  • Updated by Pentax 645Z
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D Overview

Its time to look closer at the Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Pro DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and 645D (40MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and 645D (Medium format) use different sensor dimensions.

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The E-500 was revealed 5 years before the 645D and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax 645D being a Large SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a thorough comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the E-500 grades vs the 645D when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Pentax 645D

 E-500 645D 

Reasons to pick Pentax 645D over the Olympus E-500

 645D E-500 
RevealedMarch 2010October 2005More recent by 53 months
Display dimension3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution921k215kCrisper display (+706k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Pentax 645D

 E-500 645D 
Manually focus More accurate focus
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly display Missing Touch friendly display

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D Physical Comparison

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 provides exterior measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Pentax 645D has specifications of 156mm x 117mm x 119mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 4.7") accompanied by a weight of 1480 grams (3.26 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you use at that moment. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the E-500 versus the 645D.

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and 645D is 70 and 50 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it's difficult to picture the difference in sensor measurements only by viewing a spec sheet. The graphic below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and 645D.

Clearly, both of the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-500 using its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Pentax 645D will render more detail because of its extra 32MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics much more aggressively. The older E-500 will be behind in sensor tech.

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Portrait photography camera
Pentax 645D as a Portrait photography camera
48
manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
no liveview feature
low megapixels (8MP)
77
focusing manually
high MP (40MP)
great sensor size (Medium format)
saves RAW formats
doesn't have liveview
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography info
Pentax 645D Street photography info
56
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
lighter than others in class (479 grams)
screen is fixed
no image stabilization
maximum ISO low (400)
58
great sensor size (Medium format)
saves RAW formats
environment proof
fixed screen
lack of image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography info
Pentax 645D Sports photography info
37
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect auto focus
no liveview feature
max fps low (3.0 fps)
no image stabilization
low megapixels (8MP)
63
high MP (40 megapixels)
great sensor size (Medium format)
environment proof
has phase detect auto focus
doesn't have liveview
max fps low (1.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
bad battery (800 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography details
Pentax 645D Travel photography details
52
lighter than others in class (479g)
flash built-in
does not have Time Lapse recording
low megapixels (8 megapixels)
display isn't selfie friendly
55
environment proof
high MP (40MP)
bad battery (800 shots)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 Landscape photography factors
Pentax 645D Landscape photography factors
43
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
small screen (2.5 inch)
no liveview feature
no image stabilization
low megapixels (8MP)
maximum ISO low (400)
does not have Time Lapse recording
72
focusing manually
switch lenses (Pentax 645AF2 mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
high MP (40 megapixels)
great sensor size (Medium format)
no anti-alias filter
saves RAW formats
environment proof
2 card slots
doesn't have liveview
lack of image stabilization
bad battery (800 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 Vlogging advice
Pentax 645D Vlogging advice
9
can't shoot video
9
no video
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645D Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Pentax 645D
 Olympus E-500Pentax 645D
General Information
Company Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus E-500 Pentax 645D
Alternative name EVOLT E-500 -
Category Advanced DSLR Pro DSLR
Announced 2005-10-21 2010-03-10
Physical type Mid-size SLR Large SLR
Sensor Information
Processor - Prime II
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds Medium format
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 44 x 33mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 1,452.0mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixel 40 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3
Highest resolution 3264 x 2448 7264 x 5440
Highest native ISO 400 1600
Highest boosted ISO 1600 -
Minimum native ISO 100 200
RAW data
Minimum boosted ISO - 100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 3 11
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax 645AF2
Available lenses 45 6
Focal length multiplier 2.1 0.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 2.5" 3"
Resolution of display 215k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech - TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle and with AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 98 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.85x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames/s 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180 seconds 1/125 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Highest video resolution None None
Microphone 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
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 479g (1.06 lb) 1480g (3.26 lb)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 156 x 117 x 119mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 4.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 82
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 24.6
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.6
DXO Low light rating not tested 1262
Other
Battery life - 800 shots
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC
Card slots Single Two
Retail price $600 $4,000