Olympus E-500 vs Sony A6100

Its time to look closer at the Olympus E-500 versus Sony A6100, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a sizable difference between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and A6100 (24MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and A6100 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was brought out 15 years earlier than the A6100 which is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A6100 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go through a step-by-step comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-500 scores against the A6100 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Sony Alpha a6100. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Sony A6100 Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry around your camera often, you will have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 enjoys physical dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Sony A6100 has proportions of 120mm x 67mm x 59mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.3") along with a weight of 396 grams (0.87 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-500 versus Sony A6100 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you select at that moment. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the E-500 against the A6100.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and A6100 is 70 and 81 respectively.

Usually, its hard to imagine the gap between sensor sizes purely by reading through specs. The image below will offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and A6100.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-500 because of its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony A6100 will resolve extra detail having its extra 16 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop shots much more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.