Olympus E-500 vs Sony HX20V

On this page, we are comparing the Olympus E-500 and Sony HX20V, one is a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a big gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and HX20V (18MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and HX20V (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-500 was revealed 7 years before the HX20V which is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise view of how the E-500 matches up versus the HX20V for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-500 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Sony HX20V Gallery.

For anyone who is going to travel with your camera regularly, you should think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 has got 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 HX20V has dimensions of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") having a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 and Sony HX20V in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have attached at that moment. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-500 versus the HX20V.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and HX20V is 70 and 90 respectively.

Normally, it is very difficult to envision the contrast between sensor dimensions simply by reading through a spec sheet. The image here will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and HX20V.

As you can see, both the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 having a larger sensor will make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Sony HX20V will give more detail because of its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.