Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1

Here is a complete overview of the Olympus E-500 and Pentax S1, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and S1 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and S1 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was introduced 6 years earlier than the S1 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax S1 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-500 grades vs the S1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Pentax Optio S1. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Pentax S1 Gallery.

If you are going to carry your camera, you will need to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-500 has external dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Pentax S1 has measurements of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-500 and Pentax S1 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have at that time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the E-500 compared to the S1.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and S1 is 70 and 93 respectively.

Sometimes, it's hard to visualize the contrast between sensor sizing just by looking at specs. The photograph here may provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and S1.

All in all, each of these cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-500 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Pentax S1 will give you extra detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.