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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Pentax K-5 II front
Portability
60
Imaging
58
Features
82
Overall
67

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Increase to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Announced October 2005
  • Additionally Known as EVOLT E-500
  • Later Model is Olympus E-510
Pentax K-5 II
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Increase to 51200)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 760g - 131 x 97 x 73mm
  • Released June 2013
  • Superseded the Pentax K-5
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II Overview

Here is a in depth assessment of the Olympus E-500 and Pentax K-5 II, both Advanced DSLR cameras by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap among the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and K-5 II (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and K-5 II (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-500 was released 8 years prior to the K-5 II and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).

Before going in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-500 grades against the K-5 II in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Pentax K-5 II

 E-500 K-5 II 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-5 II over the Olympus E-500

 K-5 II E-500 
ReleasedJune 2013October 2005Fresher by 92 months
Display dimension3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution921k215kCrisper display (+706k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Pentax K-5 II

 E-500 K-5 II 
Focus manually Dial exact focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither includes Touch friendly display

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II Physical Comparison

If you're aiming to carry your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 features physical dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") accompanied by a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-5 II has sizing of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") and a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-500 and Pentax K-5 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the E-500 compared to the K-5 II.

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and K-5 II is 70 and 60 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II Sensor Comparison

Normally, its difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor sizing just by researching specs. The graphic below might give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and K-5 II.

As you can plainly see, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-500 due to its smaller sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field more challenging and the Pentax K-5 II will result in extra detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older E-500 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography information
Pentax K-5 II Portrait photography information
48
you can focus manually
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
doesn't have liveview
low resolution sensor (8MP)
74
you can focus manually
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detection focusing
supports RAW formats
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography details
Pentax K-5 II Street photography details
56
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
lighter than competition (479g)
fixed screen
lack of image stabilization
max ISO too low (400)
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
weather sealing
fixed screen
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography info
Pentax K-5 II Sports photography info
37
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect auto focus
doesn't have liveview
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
low resolution sensor (8MP)
79
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
comes with tracking autofocus
weather sealing
has phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography factors
Pentax K-5 II Travel photography factors
52
lighter than competition (479g)
flash built-in
missing Time Lapse recording
low resolution sensor (8 megapixels)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
65
weather sealing
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
does not have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-5 II as a Landscape photography camera
43
you can focus manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
tiny screen (2.5 inch)
doesn't have liveview
lack of image stabilization
low resolution sensor (8MP)
max ISO too low (400)
missing Time Lapse recording
79
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
weather sealing
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 Vlogging details
Pentax K-5 II Vlogging details
9
can't record video
33
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
has external microphone socket
does not have a selfie friendly screen
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-5 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Pentax K-5 II
 Olympus E-500Pentax K-5 II
General Information
Company Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus E-500 Pentax K-5 II
Also referred to as EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Advanced DSLR
Announced 2005-10-21 2013-06-04
Physical type Mid-size SLR Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - Prime II
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2
Highest Possible resolution 3264 x 2448 4928 x 3264
Maximum native ISO 400 12800
Maximum enhanced ISO 1600 51200
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW data
Minimum enhanced ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 3 11
Cross type focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Number of lenses 45 151
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 2.5 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 215k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen tech - TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.61x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames/s 7.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, High speed, Rear curtain and Wireless
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (25 fps), 1280 x 720 (25, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (25, 30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 479 grams (1.06 pounds) 760 grams (1.68 pounds)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 131 x 97 x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 82
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.8
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 14.1
DXO Low light rating not tested 1235
Other
Battery life - 980 images
Battery type - Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse recording
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Pricing at release $600 $830