Olympus E-500 vs Sony A33

Here, we are evaluating the Olympus E-500 and Sony A33, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and A33 (14MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and A33 (APS-C) posses different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-500 was released 5 years earlier than the A33 which is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-500 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A33 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a thorough comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the E-500 scores versus the A33 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-500 & Sony SLT-A33. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Sony A33 Gallery.

When you are aiming to travel with your camera often, you have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-500 offers outside dimensions of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) while the Sony A33 has sizing of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-500 and Sony A33 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have attached at that moment. Below is a front view size comparison of the E-500 compared to the A33.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and A33 is 70 and 67 respectively.

Typically, its hard to visualize the difference between sensor dimensions only by going over specs. The picture below should offer you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-500 and A33.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 because of its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A33 will deliver extra detail as a result of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop images way more aggressively. The more aged E-500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.