Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-7
70 Imaging
41 Features
34 Overall
38


84 Imaging
63 Features
71 Overall
66
Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-7 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Boost to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
- Launched October 2005
- Additionally Known as EVOLT E-500
- Newer Model is Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
- 24MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 100 - 16000
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Sony E Mount
- 400g - 120 x 67 x 43mm
- Announced December 2011

Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-7 Overview
Below, we are matching up the Olympus E-500 and Sony NEX-7, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and NEX-7 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor dimensions.

The E-500 was manufactured 7 years before the NEX-7 which is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.
Before going through a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick overview of how the E-500 scores vs the NEX-7 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-7 Gallery
Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 & Sony Alpha NEX-7. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Sony NEX-7 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Sony NEX-7
E-500 | NEX-7 |
---|
Reasons to pick Sony NEX-7 over the Olympus E-500
NEX-7 | E-500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Announced | December 2011 | ![]() | October 2005 | Newer by 74 months |
Display type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting display |
Display dimension | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Larger display (+0.5") |
Display resolution | 921k | ![]() | 215k | Crisper display (+706k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Sony NEX-7
E-500 | NEX-7 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual focus | ![]() | Very accurate focusing | ||
Selfie screen | ![]() | No selfie screen | ||
Touch friendly display | ![]() | Neither includes Touch friendly display |
Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-7 Physical Comparison
If you're going to travel with your camera regularly, you'll need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 features outside 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 NEX-7 has proportions of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).
Examine the Olympus E-500 and Sony NEX-7 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you select during that time. Underneath is the front view proportions comparison of the E-500 against the NEX-7.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and NEX-7 is 70 and 84 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-7 Sensor Comparison
Quite often, it's difficult to envision the gap between sensor dimensions merely by reading through a spec sheet. The image here may give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and NEX-7.
As you can see, both of those cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 due to its tinier sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field harder and the Sony NEX-7 will give you more detail due to its extra 16 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind in sensor technology.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Sony NEX-7 Specifications
Olympus E-500 | Sony Alpha NEX-7 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Make | Olympus | Sony |
Model type | Olympus E-500 | Sony Alpha NEX-7 |
Also referred to as | EVOLT E-500 | - |
Category | Advanced DSLR | Advanced Mirrorless |
Launched | 2005-10-21 | 2011-12-13 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Sensor Information | ||
Powered by | - | Bionz |
Sensor type | CCD | CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | APS-C |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
Sensor area | 224.9mm² | 366.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 8 megapixels | 24 megapixels |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Highest Possible resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 6000 x 4000 |
Maximum native ISO | 400 | 16000 |
Maximum enhanced ISO | 1600 | - |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW images | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Autofocus touch | ||
Continuous autofocus | ||
Autofocus single | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Autofocus multi area | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detect focus | ||
Contract detect focus | ||
Phase detect focus | ||
Total focus points | 3 | 25 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | Sony E |
Number of lenses | 45 | 121 |
Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Fixed Type | Tilting |
Display diagonal | 2.5 inches | 3 inches |
Resolution of display | 215k dots | 921k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch display | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | Optical (pentaprism) | Electronic |
Viewfinder coverage | 95 percent | 100 percent |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.45x | 0.73x |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 60s | 30s |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/4000s |
Continuous shutter rate | 3.0 frames/s | 10.0 frames/s |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Custom white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash distance | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) | 6.00 m |
Flash modes | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless |
Hot shoe | ||
AEB | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Fastest flash synchronize | 1/180s | 1/160s |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | - | 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
Maximum video resolution | None | 1920x1080 |
Video data format | - | MPEG-4, AVCHD |
Microphone support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Eye-Fi Connected |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environmental sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 479 gr (1.06 lbs) | 400 gr (0.88 lbs) |
Dimensions | 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") | 120 x 67 x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall rating | not tested | 81 |
DXO Color Depth rating | not tested | 24.1 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | not tested | 13.4 |
DXO Low light rating | not tested | 1016 |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 430 photographs |
Battery style | - | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | - | NPFW50 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 or 5 images)) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
Card slots | 1 | 1 |
Retail price | $600 | $699 |