Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1
70 Imaging
41 Features
34 Overall
38
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93 Imaging
37 Features
31 Overall
34
Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Push to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
- Revealed October 2005
- Additionally referred to as EVOLT E-500
- Replacement is Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
- 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 2.7" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 6400
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 28-140mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
- 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
- Introduced March 2011
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1 Overview
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.
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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.
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1 Gallery
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.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Pentax S1
E-500 | S1 |
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Reasons to pick Pentax S1 over the Olympus E-500
S1 | E-500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | March 2011 | ![]() | October 2005 | Fresher by 65 months |
Screen size | 2.7" | ![]() | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.2") |
Screen resolution | 230k | ![]() | 215k | Crisper screen (+15k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Pentax S1
E-500 | S1 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | More exact focus | ||
Screen type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed screen |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither has selfie screen | ||
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Neither has Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1 Physical Comparison
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.
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Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and S1 is 70 and 93 respectively.
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1 Sensor Comparison
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.
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1 Screen and ViewFinder
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Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
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Street Comparison
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Sports Comparison
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Travel Comparison
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Landscape Comparison
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Vlogging Comparison
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Olympus E-500 vs Pentax S1 Specifications
Olympus E-500 | Pentax Optio S1 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand | Olympus | Pentax |
Model | Olympus E-500 | Pentax Optio S1 |
Also Known as | EVOLT E-500 | - |
Type | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Compact |
Revealed | 2005-10-21 | 2011-03-02 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Sensor type | CCD | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 8 megapixel | 14 megapixel |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9 |
Highest resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 4288 x 3216 |
Highest native ISO | 400 | 6400 |
Highest boosted ISO | 1600 | - |
Minimum native ISO | 100 | 80 |
RAW format | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Autofocus touch | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Autofocus selectice | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Live view autofocus | ||
Face detect focus | ||
Contract detect focus | ||
Phase detect focus | ||
Number of focus points | 3 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mounting type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens focal range | - | 28-140mm (5.0x) |
Max aperture | - | f/3.5-5.5 |
Macro focus range | - | 1cm |
Number of lenses | 45 | - |
Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Type of display | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display size | 2.5 inch | 2.7 inch |
Resolution of display | 215k dots | 230k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch functionality | ||
Display tech | - | TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 95 percent | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.45x | - |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60s | 4s |
Highest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/1500s |
Continuous shooting rate | 3.0fps | 1.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Set white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash range | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) | 3.90 m |
Flash settings | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Highest flash synchronize | 1/180s | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) |
Highest video resolution | None | 1280x720 |
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 | None |
Physical | ||
Environmental sealing | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 479 gr (1.06 lb) | 157 gr (0.35 lb) |
Physical dimensions | 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") | 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light score | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 260 photos |
Battery type | - | Battery Pack |
Battery model | - | D-LI92 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Card slots | One | One |
Retail pricing | $600 | $174 |