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Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II

Portability
70
Imaging
42
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II front
Portability
58
Imaging
52
Features
77
Overall
62

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Push to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
  • Launched October 2005
  • Alternate Name is EVOLT E-500
  • Successor is Olympus E-510
Sony RX10 II
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Expand to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Released June 2015
  • Earlier Model is Sony RX10
  • Renewed by Sony RX10 III
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Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II Overview

On this page, we are evaluating the Olympus E-500 and Sony RX10 II, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and RX10 II (20MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and RX10 II (1") offer totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-500 was launched 10 years before the RX10 II and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX10 II being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going straight to a detailed comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-500 scores vs the RX10 II with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Sony RX10 II

 E-500 RX10 II 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 II over the Olympus E-500

 RX10 II E-500 
ReleasedJune 2015October 2005More recent by 117 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display dimensions3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution1229k215kCrisper display (+1014k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Sony RX10 II

 E-500 RX10 II 
Manually focus Dial exact focusing
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch display Lacking Touch display

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II Physical Comparison

For anyone who is going to lug around your camera frequently, you will have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 features physical dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") having a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Sony RX10 II has proportions of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") accompanied by a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-500 and Sony RX10 II in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Underneath is a front view measurement comparison of the E-500 compared to the RX10 II.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and RX10 II is 70 and 58 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II Sensor Comparison

Normally, its difficult to see the contrast between sensor measurements merely by looking at technical specs. The visual below might provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-500 and RX10 II.

As you have seen, both of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-500 because of its larger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Sony RX10 II will give more detail utilizing its extra 12MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography features
Sony RX10 II Portrait photography features
49
manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
no liveview feature
MP count low (8MP)
71
has manual focus
decent MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
has face detect autofocus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Street photography camera
Sony RX10 II as a Street photography camera
57
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
lighter than competition (479 grams)
screen is fixed
does not have image stabilization
maximum ISO low (400)
72
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is decent (1")
saves RAW files
weather proofing
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-500
Sports photography with Sony RX10 II
37
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect auto focus
no liveview feature
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
does not have image stabilization
MP count low (8 megapixels)
68
silent shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
has tracking focus
weather proofing
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-500
Travel photography with Sony RX10 II
52
lighter than competition (479g)
flash built-in
no Timelapse recording
MP count low (8MP)
does not have a selfie friendly display
56
weather proofing
decent MP (20 megapixels)
flash built-in
really wide (24mm)
missing Time Lapse recording
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-500
Landscape photography with Sony RX10 II
43
manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
screen is somewhat small (2.5 inches)
no liveview feature
does not have image stabilization
MP count low (8MP)
maximum ISO low (400)
no Timelapse recording
62
has manual focus
really wide (24mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
saves RAW files
weather proofing
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
missing Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 Vlogging details
Sony RX10 II Vlogging details
9
no video
31
really wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect autofocus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
includes mic support
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX10 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Sony RX10 II
 Olympus E-500Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
Other name EVOLT E-500 -
Class Advanced DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2005-10-21 2015-06-10
Physical type Mid-size SLR SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3264 x 2448 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 400 12800
Highest boosted ISO 1600 25600
Min native ISO 100 125
RAW format
Min boosted ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 3 25
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-200mm (8.3x)
Max aperture - f/2.8
Macro focus distance - 3cm
Available lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 2.7
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 2.5 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 215k dots 1,229k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359k dots
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Maximum silent shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 3.0fps 14.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) 10.20 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Highest video resolution None 3840x2160
Video file format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 479 grams (1.06 pounds) 813 grams (1.79 pounds)
Physical dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 70
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.0
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.6
DXO Low light score not tested 531
Other
Battery life - 400 images
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 1 1
Price at launch $600 $998