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Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II

Portability
70
Imaging
42
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Sony Alpha A9 Mark II front
Portability
62
Imaging
76
Features
93
Overall
82

Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Raise to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Announced October 2005
  • Alternative Name is EVOLT E-500
  • New Model is Olympus E-510
Sony A9 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Bump to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 678g - 129 x 96 x 76mm
  • Released October 2019
  • Replaced the Sony A9
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Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II Overview

Its time to look closer at the Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and A9 II (24MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and A9 II (Full frame) enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The E-500 was released 15 years earlier than the A9 II which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A9 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the E-500 grades versus the A9 II with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Sony A9 II

 E-500 A9 II 

Reasons to pick Sony A9 II over the Olympus E-500

 A9 II E-500 
ReleasedOctober 2019October 2005More modern by 169 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen sizing3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution1440k215kClearer screen (+1225k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Sony A9 II

 E-500 A9 II 
Manual focus More precise focusing
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen

Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II Physical Comparison

For those who are going to carry around your camera, you'll need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 offers outside measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") having a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Sony A9 II has sizing of 129mm x 96mm x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0") with a weight of 678 grams (1.49 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilizing during that time. The following is the front view size comparison of the E-500 against the A9 II.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and A9 II is 70 and 62 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II Sensor Comparison

Typically, its tough to see the contrast between sensor sizes just by reading technical specs. The image here should give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and A9 II.

As you have seen, both of those cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-500 due to its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field harder and the Sony A9 II will deliver more detail as a result of its extra 16MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography highlights
Sony A9 II Portrait photography highlights
49
has manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
no liveview feature
low MP (8MP)
85
has manual focus
decent MP (24MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
supports face detect autofocus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Street photography camera
Sony A9 II as a Street photography camera
57
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
lighter than competitors in class (479 grams)
screen does not articulate
lack of image stabilization
max ISO too low (400)
78
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
great sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW files
has touch to focus
weather sealing
great ISO range (51,200)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-500
Sports photography with Sony A9 II
37
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has phase detect AF
no liveview feature
slow fps (3.0 fps)
lack of image stabilization
low MP (8MP)
88
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
silent shutter (1/32,000s)
max fps high (20.0 frames/s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent MP (24 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
supports tracking focus
weather sealing
better than average battery (690 CIPA)
has phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography features
Sony A9 II Travel photography features
52
lighter than competitors in class (479 grams)
flash built-in
does not have Time Lapse function
low MP (8MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
73
better than average battery (690 shots)
weather sealing
connects via bluetooth
has touch to focus
decent MP (24 megapixels)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 Landscape photography highlights
Sony A9 II Landscape photography highlights
43
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
screen is small (2.5 inch)
no liveview feature
lack of image stabilization
low MP (8MP)
max ISO too low (400)
does not have Time Lapse function
86
has manual focus
change lenses (Sony E mount)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent MP (24MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
great ISO range (51,200)
saves RAW files
weather sealing
better than average battery (690 shots)
2 card slots
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 Vlogging info
Sony A9 II Vlogging info
9
can't record video
36
touch screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
supports face detect autofocus
high video quality (3840 x 2160 pixels)
has mic support
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
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Olympus E-500 vs Sony A9 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Sony A9 II
 Olympus E-500Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-500 Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
Also referred to as EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Pro Mirrorless
Announced 2005-10-21 2019-10-03
Physical type Mid-size SLR SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - BIONZ X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixels 24 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2
Full resolution 3264 x 2448 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 400 51200
Max boosted ISO 1600 204800
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Min boosted ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points 3 693
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Total lenses 45 121
Crop factor 2.1 1
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 2.5" 3"
Screen resolution 215k dots 1,440k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 3,686k dots
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.78x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/8000 secs
Maximum silent shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames per second 20.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) no built-in flash
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution None 3840x2160
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 479g (1.06 lbs) 678g (1.49 lbs)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 129 x 96 x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0")
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 - 690 photos
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FZ100
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2, 5, 10 secs + continuous, 3 or 5 frames)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II compatible)
Card slots 1 Two
Launch pricing $600 $4,498