Olympus E-500 vs Sony TX30

The following is a detailed review of the Olympus E-500 and Sony TX30, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Ultracompact by competitors Olympus and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and TX30 (18MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and TX30 (1/2.3") possess different sensor sizes.

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The E-500 was manufactured 8 years before the TX30 which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony TX30 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before going through a more detailed comparison, below is a brief view of how the E-500 scores versus the TX30 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-500 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Sony TX30 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to travel with your camera frequently, you will need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 comes with outside dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) and the Sony TX30 has dimensions of 96mm x 59mm x 15mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.6") along with a weight of 141 grams (0.31 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-500 and Sony TX30 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you select at the time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-500 compared to the TX30.

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-500 and TX30 is 70 and 96 respectively.

Usually, it is very hard to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions merely by reviewing technical specs. The image below will help give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and TX30.

As you have seen, each of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 because of its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony TX30 will offer you extra detail due to its extra 10MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics a little more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind in sensor technology.