Olympus E-500 vs Sony A380

Let's examine more closely at the Olympus E-500 and Sony A380, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and A380 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and A380 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was launched 4 years earlier than the A380 which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A380 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting in to a more detailed comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-500 scores versus the A380 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A380. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Sony A380 Gallery.

For those who are going to carry around your camera frequently, you need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 has exterior dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Sony A380 has specifications of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") with a weight of 519 grams (1.14 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-500 and Sony A380 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you use at that moment. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the E-500 compared to the A380.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and A380 is 70 and 68 respectively.

More often than not, it can be difficult to see the gap between sensor sizes just by going over technical specs. The image below will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and A380.

As you can tell, both the cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-500 due to its tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF more challenging and the Sony A380 will offer you more detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop shots far more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.