Olympus E-500 vs Pentax MX-1

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-500 and Pentax MX-1, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Pentax. There is a significant difference among the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and MX-1 (12MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and MX-1 (1/1.7") offer totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-500 was brought out 8 years prior to the MX-1 and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax MX-1 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a full comparison, here is a quick summary of how the E-500 grades versus the MX-1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-500 and Pentax MX-1. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Pentax MX-1 Gallery.

If you're intending to carry your camera, you need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 comes with outside 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 MX-1 has dimensions of 122mm x 61mm x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") along with a weight of 391 grams (0.86 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-500 and Pentax MX-1 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-500 vs the MX-1.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and MX-1 is 70 and 84 respectively.

Often, it is very tough to envision the difference in sensor sizing merely by seeing technical specs. The visual here will help offer you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and MX-1.

As you can tell, each of the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-500 because of its larger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Pentax MX-1 will provide greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics a good deal more aggressively. The older E-500 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.