Olympus E-500 vs Pentax P80

The following is a comprehensive analysis of the Olympus E-500 and Pentax P80, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and P80 (12MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and P80 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizing.

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The E-500 was brought out 4 years prior to the P80 which is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax P80 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a short summary of how the E-500 matches up against the P80 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 and Pentax Optio P80. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Pentax P80 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to travel with your camera, you're going to have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 features outside measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") accompanied by a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Pentax P80 has dimensions of 102mm x 59mm x 25mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.0") with a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-500 and Pentax P80 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have at that moment. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the E-500 compared to the P80.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and P80 is 70 and 95 respectively.

More often than not, it is very tough to picture the difference between sensor dimensions only by going over a spec sheet. The image below will offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and P80.

Clearly, each of the cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 because of its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Pentax P80 will offer greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.