Olympus E-500 vs Pentax WG-2 GPS

Here is a in depth analysis of the Olympus E-500 and Pentax WG-2 GPS, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Waterproof by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and WG-2 GPS (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and WG-2 GPS (1/2.3") use totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was launched 7 years before the WG-2 GPS and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax WG-2 GPS being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a complete comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the E-500 scores versus the WG-2 GPS when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Pentax Optio WG-2 GPS. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Pentax WG-2 GPS Gallery.

If you're going to carry your camera regularly, you have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 has physical dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Pentax WG-2 GPS has specifications of 122mm x 61mm x 30mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 1.2") having a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-500 and Pentax WG-2 GPS in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is the front view sizing comparison of the E-500 against the WG-2 GPS.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and WG-2 GPS is 70 and 91 respectively.

Quite often, it is tough to see the difference between sensor sizing purely by going over specs. The visual below will offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and WG-2 GPS.

As you can plainly see, both cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-500 featuring a bigger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Pentax WG-2 GPS will offer you more detail utilizing its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.