Olympus E-500 vs Sony W730

Here is a detailed comparison of the Olympus E-500 vs Sony W730, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and W730 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and W730 (1/2.3") boast different sensor measurements.

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The E-500 was introduced 8 years before the W730 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony W730 being a Compact camera.

Before we go right into a more detailed comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the E-500 scores versus the W730 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W730. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-500 Gallery and Sony W730 Gallery.

When you are planning to carry your camera regularly, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-500 offers 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) while the Sony W730 has measurements of 93mm x 52mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") having a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

See the Olympus E-500 vs Sony W730 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are working with at the time. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-500 compared to the W730.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and W730 is 70 and 96 respectively.

Quite often, it can be tough to visualize the difference between sensor sizing simply by checking a spec sheet. The graphic underneath will help give you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and W730.

Clearly, both of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-500 with its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony W730 will give greater detail using its extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.