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Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III

Portability
70
Imaging
41
Features
34
Overall
38
Olympus E-500 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III front
Portability
89
Imaging
51
Features
77
Overall
61

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III Key Specs

Olympus E-500
(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
  • New Model is Olympus E-510
Sony RX100 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 290g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Released May 2014
  • Superseded the Sony RX100 II
  • Refreshed by Sony RX100 IV
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Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III Overview

Below, we will be comparing the Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap between the image resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and RX100 III (20MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and RX100 III (1") come with totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-500 was manufactured 9 years earlier than the RX100 III which is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting in to a complete comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-500 scores versus the RX100 III in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Sony RX100 III

 E-500 RX100 III 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 III over the Olympus E-500

 RX100 III E-500 
ReleasedMay 2014October 2005Newer by 104 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution1229k215kSharper screen (+1014k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Sony RX100 III

 E-500 RX100 III 
Manually focus Dial exact focusing
Touch friendly screen Neither includes Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to travel with your camera often, you have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-500 features physical measurements 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 RX100 III has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-500 compared to the RX100 III.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and RX100 III is 70 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its difficult to envision the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by reading through specs. The pic here will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and RX100 III.

All in all, both of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 featuring a bigger sensor will make achieving bokeh easier and the Sony RX100 III will give you extra detail due to its extra 12 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III sensor size comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-500 Portrait photography features
Sony RX100 III Portrait photography features
48
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
doesn't have liveview
low megapixels (8MP)
64
has manual focus
high flash sync speed (1/2,000 seconds)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (1")
offers face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
can't use external flash
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-500 Street photography factors
Sony RX100 III Street photography factors
56
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
lighter than others in class (479 grams)
screen is fixed
no image stabilization
low maximum ISO (400)
85
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is nice (1")
delivers RAW formats
lighter than competition in class (290 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-500 Sports photography info
Sony RX100 III Sports photography info
37
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect auto focus
doesn't have liveview
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
no image stabilization
low megapixels (8MP)
65
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (1")
offers tracking autofocus
lacks phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-500 Travel photography features
Sony RX100 III Travel photography features
52
lighter than others in class (479 grams)
built-in flash
does not have Time Lapse recording
low megapixels (8MP)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
85
lighter than competition in class (290 grams)
megapixel count good (20MP)
flash built-in
selfie friendly display
decently wide (24mm)
fast maximum aperture (f1.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-500 Landscape photography information
Sony RX100 III Landscape photography information
43
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
tiny screen (2.5")
doesn't have liveview
no image stabilization
low megapixels (8 megapixels)
low maximum ISO (400)
does not have Time Lapse recording
73
has manual focus
decently wide (24mm)
fast maximum aperture (f1.8)
nice screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20MP)
sensor size is nice (1")
delivers RAW formats
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 as a Vlogging camera
Sony RX100 III as a Vlogging camera
9
lack of video recording
80
decently wide (24mm)
fast maximum aperture (f1.8)
selfie friendly display
has image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detection focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competition in class (290g)
does not have external microphone socket
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Olympus E-500 vs Sony RX100 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-500 and Sony RX100 III
 Olympus E-500Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus E-500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
Also called as EVOLT E-500 -
Type Advanced DSLR Large Sensor Compact
Launched 2005-10-21 2014-05-15
Physical type Mid-size SLR Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Chip - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 8MP 20MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 3264 x 2448 5472 x 3648
Maximum native ISO 400 12800
Maximum enhanced ISO 1600 -
Lowest native ISO 100 125
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
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 fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-70mm (2.9x)
Maximal aperture - f/1.8-2.8
Macro focusing distance - 5cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 2.7
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 2.5" 3"
Resolution of display 215 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.45x 0.59x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 3.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 13.00 m (at ISO 100) -
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye -
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/180 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p/120p), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone port
Headphone port
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 proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 479 grams (1.06 lb) 290 grams (0.64 lb)
Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 67
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.3
DXO Low light rating not tested 495
Other
Battery life - 320 shots
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, self-portrait, continuous)
Time lapse shooting With downloadable app
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Cost at release $600 $748