Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000
70 Imaging
41 Features
34 Overall
38


93 Imaging
33 Features
17 Overall
26
Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Push to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 479g - 130 x 95 x 66mm
- Introduced October 2005
- Other Name is EVOLT E-500
- Updated by Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
- 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 3200
- 640 x 480 video
- 33-105mm (F3.1-5.6) lens
- 167g - 98 x 61 x 27mm
- Released January 2010

Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000 Overview
Its time to take a closer look at the Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-500 (8MP) and the S2000 (10MP) is fairly well matched but the E-500 (Four Thirds) and S2000 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

The E-500 was brought out 5 years earlier than the S2000 and that is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony S2000 being a Compact camera.
Before getting through a full comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the E-500 scores vs the S2000 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000 Gallery
Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2000. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Sony S2000 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-500 over the Sony S2000
E-500 | S2000 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | Dial precise focusing |
Reasons to pick Sony S2000 over the Olympus E-500
S2000 | E-500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | January 2010 | ![]() | October 2005 | More recent by 51 months |
Display sizing | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Larger display (+0.5") |
Display resolution | 230k | ![]() | 215k | Sharper display (+15k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-500 and Sony S2000
E-500 | S2000 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Display type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed display |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Lacking selfie screen | ||
Touch friendly display | ![]() | Neither features Touch friendly display |
Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000 Physical Comparison
If you're aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 enjoys outer 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 S2000 has sizing of 98mm x 61mm x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).
Check out the Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have at that time. Here is the front view measurements comparison of the E-500 versus the S2000.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and S2000 is 70 and 93 respectively.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000 Sensor Comparison
In many cases, it is very difficult to see the difference between sensor measurements simply by checking a spec sheet. The graphic below might provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and S2000.
Clearly, each of these cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-500 due to its larger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF easier and the Sony S2000 will give you more detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics a little more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be behind in sensor technology.

Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-500 vs Sony S2000 Specifications
Olympus E-500 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2000 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand Name | Olympus | Sony |
Model | Olympus E-500 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2000 |
Alternate name | EVOLT E-500 | - |
Type | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Compact |
Introduced | 2005-10-21 | 2010-01-07 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | - | Bionz |
Sensor type | CCD | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 8 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 4:3 and 16:9 |
Highest Possible resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3456 x 2592 |
Maximum native ISO | 400 | 3200 |
Maximum enhanced ISO | 1600 | - |
Min native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW support | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focus | ||
AF touch | ||
Continuous AF | ||
Single AF | ||
AF tracking | ||
Selective AF | ||
Center weighted AF | ||
AF multi area | ||
AF live view | ||
Face detect focusing | ||
Contract detect focusing | ||
Phase detect focusing | ||
Number of focus points | 3 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mounting type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens focal range | - | 33-105mm (3.2x) |
Largest aperture | - | f/3.1-5.6 |
Macro focus range | - | 5cm |
Total lenses | 45 | - |
Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display size | 2.5 inches | 3 inches |
Display resolution | 215k dots | 230k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch display | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 95 percent | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.45x | - |
Features | ||
Min shutter speed | 60s | 1s |
Max shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/1200s |
Continuous shutter rate | 3.0fps | 1.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Set WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash range | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) | 3.30 m |
Flash options | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Slow syncro |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Max flash synchronize | 1/180s | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | - | 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) |
Maximum video resolution | None | 640x480 |
Video format | - | Motion JPEG |
Microphone support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environmental sealing | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 479g (1.06 lb) | 167g (0.37 lb) |
Dimensions | 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") | 98 x 61 x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light score | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery model | - | 2 x AA |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo, optional SD, Internal |
Card slots | 1 | 1 |
Retail price | $600 | $225 |