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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Pentax 645Z front
Portability
49
Imaging
80
Features
74
Overall
77

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Expand to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Launched October 2005
  • Additionally Known as EVOLT E-500
  • Replacement is Olympus E-510
Pentax 645Z
(Full Review)
  • 51MP - Medium format Sensor
  • 3.2" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 204800
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax 645AF2 Mount
  • 1550g - 156 x 117 x 123mm
  • Revealed April 2014
  • Older Model is Pentax 645D
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z Overview

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-500 and Pentax 645Z, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Pro DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There is a sizeable difference between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and 645Z (51MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and 645Z (Medium format) use different sensor sizes.

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The E-500 was announced 9 years before the 645Z and that is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax 645Z being a Large SLR camera.

Before going in to a in depth comparison, below is a short view of how the E-500 scores vs the 645Z with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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

 E-500 645Z 

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

 645Z E-500 
RevealedApril 2014October 2005Fresher by 103 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display dimension3.2"2.5"Larger display (+0.7")
Display resolution1037k215kClearer display (+822k dot)

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

 E-500 645Z 
Manual focus Dial precise focus
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch display Absent Touch display

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z Physical Comparison

In case you're planning to carry your camera regularly, you'll need to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 offers outside dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Pentax 645Z has specifications of 156mm x 117mm x 123mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 4.8") having a weight of 1550 grams (3.42 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-500 and Pentax 645Z in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the E-500 vs the 645Z.

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and 645Z is 70 and 49 respectively.

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

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, its difficult to imagine the difference between sensor sizing merely by reading specifications. The visual here will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and 645Z.

Plainly, both of these cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-500 using its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF harder and the Pentax 645Z will offer more detail with its extra 43 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be behind in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z Screen and ViewFinder

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

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography highlights
Pentax 645Z Portrait photography highlights
48
you can focus manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
doesn't have liveview
MP count low (8 megapixels)
88
has manual focus
fantastic megapixels (51 megapixels)
big sensor size (Medium format)
comes with face detection focusing
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography info
Pentax 645Z Street photography info
56
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
lighter than competition (479g)
no moving screen
no image stabilization
max ISO too low (400)
63
screen tilts
big sensor size (Medium format)
exports RAW formats
environment sealing
above average ISO range (204,800)
no image stabilization
heavier than average (1,550g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography info
Pentax 645Z Sports photography info
37
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect autofocus
doesn't have liveview
low fps (3.0 frames/s)
no image stabilization
MP count low (8MP)
71
fantastic megapixels (51MP)
big sensor size (Medium format)
comes with tracking autofocus
environment sealing
supports phase detect AF
slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
low battery power (650 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax 645Z as a Travel photography camera
52
lighter than competition (479g)
flash built-in
does not have Timelapse recording
MP count low (8 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
51
environment sealing
fantastic megapixels (51 megapixels)
low battery power (650 shots)
heavier than average (1,550g)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-500
Landscape photography with Pentax 645Z
43
you can focus manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
tiny screen (2.5 inches)
doesn't have liveview
no image stabilization
MP count low (8 megapixels)
max ISO too low (400)
does not have Timelapse recording
78
has manual focus
switch lenses (Pentax 645AF2 mount)
good sized screen (3.2 inch)
fantastic megapixels (51 megapixels)
big sensor size (Medium format)
does not have anti-alias filter
above average ISO range (204,800)
exports RAW formats
environment sealing
two card slots
no image stabilization
low battery power (650 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 Vlogging info
Pentax 645Z Vlogging info
9
no video recording
27
comes with face detection focusing
great video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
comes with external mic socket
display is not selfie friendly
no image stabilization
heavier than average (1,550g)
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax 645Z Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Pentax 645Z
 Olympus E-500Pentax 645Z
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus E-500 Pentax 645Z
Other name EVOLT E-500 -
Class Advanced DSLR Pro DSLR
Launched 2005-10-21 2014-04-15
Physical type Mid-size SLR Large SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - PRIME III
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Medium format
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 44 x 33mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 1,452.0mm²
Sensor resolution 8MP 51MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3
Highest resolution 3264 x 2448 8256 x 6192
Highest native ISO 400 204800
Highest boosted ISO 1600 -
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 3 27
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds Pentax 645AF2
Number of lenses 45 6
Focal length multiplier 2.1 0.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 2.5 inches 3.2 inches
Display resolution 215 thousand dots 1,037 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage 95% 98%
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.85x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames/s 3.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Flash On, Flash On+Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync+Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, contrast-control-sync, high-speed sync, wireless sync
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180s 1/125s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p,24p)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video format - MPEG-4, H.264
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 479 grams (1.06 lbs) 1550 grams (3.42 lbs)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 156 x 117 x 123mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 4.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 101
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 26.0
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 14.7
DXO Low light rating not tested 4505
Other
Battery life - 650 shots
Type of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 secs)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots
Card slots 1 Two
Retail cost $600 $5,024