Olympus E-500 vs Sigma SD1 Merrill

Here is a complete review of the Olympus E-500 and Sigma SD1 Merrill, both Advanced DSLR cameras by rivals Olympus and Sigma. There is a crucial difference among the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and SD1 Merrill (15MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and SD1 Merrill (APS-C) provide different sensor sizes.

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The E-500 was introduced 7 years earlier than the SD1 Merrill and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have the same body design (Mid-size SLR).

Before going straight to a detailed comparison, here is a brief introduction of how the E-500 matches up against the SD1 Merrill when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 and Sigma SD1 Merrill. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Sigma SD1 Merrill Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry your camera often, you're going to have to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 has got physical dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Sigma SD1 Merrill has proportions of 146mm x 113mm x 80mm (5.7" x 4.4" x 3.1") with a weight of 790 grams (1.74 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-500 and Sigma SD1 Merrill in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have chosen at the time. Following is a front view size comparison of the E-500 vs the SD1 Merrill.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and SD1 Merrill is 70 and 57 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to imagine the difference in sensor sizing only by going through technical specs. The visual below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and SD1 Merrill.

As you can tell, the two cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-500 having a smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sigma SD1 Merrill will produce extra detail using its extra 7MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older E-500 will be behind with regard to sensor technology.