Olympus E-500 vs Sony A290

Here, we are matching up the Olympus E-500 vs Sony A290, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and A290 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and A290 (APS-C) boast different sensor dimensions.

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The E-500 was revealed 5 years before the A290 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a concise overview of how the E-500 matches up versus the A290 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Sony A290 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry around your camera, you're going to have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-500 comes with external dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Sony A290 has measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-500 vs Sony A290 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are using during that time. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the E-500 compared to the A290.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and A290 is 70 and 66 respectively.

Normally, it is very tough to visualize the contrast in sensor sizes simply by looking through specs. The image below might give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and A290.

As you can plainly see, both cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-500 with its smaller sensor is going to make shooting bokeh more challenging and the Sony A290 will provide you with more detail because of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.