Olympus E-500 vs Sony W690

Here, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-500 and Sony W690, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and W690 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and W690 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor size.

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The E-500 was revealed 7 years before the W690 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony W690 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a complete comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-500 scores versus the W690 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Sony W690 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera, you should factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 features outside measurements 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 W690 has dimensions of 94mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-500 and Sony W690 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilising at that time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-500 compared to the W690.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and W690 is 70 and 95 respectively.

Generally, its tough to see the gap between sensor measurements purely by looking at specs. The graphic below may provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-500 and W690.

All in all, each of the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-500 having a bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh easier and the Sony W690 will give extra detail because of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will let you crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be behind in sensor tech.