Olympus E-500 vs Pentax VS20

Lets look a little more closely at the Olympus E-500 and Pentax VS20, one is a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and VS20 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and VS20 (1/2.3") have different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was unveiled 7 years prior to the VS20 which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax VS20 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the E-500 grades against the VS20 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-500 and Pentax Optio VS20. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Pentax VS20 Gallery.

If you are intending to travel with your camera regularly, you will have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-500 has outer measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") having a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Pentax VS20 has measurements of 111mm x 61mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.4" x 1.5") along with a weight of 235 grams (0.52 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-500 and Pentax VS20 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have at that moment. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the E-500 compared to the VS20.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and VS20 is 70 and 90 respectively.

More often than not, its tough to picture the gap between sensor dimensions purely by reading through a spec sheet. The image below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and VS20.

Clearly, each of the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 having a larger sensor is going to make shooting bokeh less difficult and the Pentax VS20 will resolve more detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.