Olympus E-500 vs Sony A77 II

The following is a in depth comparison of the Olympus E-500 vs Sony A77 II, both Advanced DSLR cameras by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and A77 II (24MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and A77 II (APS-C) have totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-500 was unveiled 9 years before the A77 II which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have the same body design (Mid-size SLR).

Before diving into a thorough comparison, here is a quick summary of how the E-500 matches up versus the A77 II in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-500 & Sony SLT-A77 II. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Sony A77 II Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to travel with your camera frequently, you'll have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-500 offers physical 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 A77 II has dimensions of 143mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") having a weight of 647 grams (1.43 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-500 vs Sony A77 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you select during that time. Here is a front view over all size comparison of the E-500 versus the A77 II.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-500 and A77 II is 70 and 62 respectively.

Normally, it is tough to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions only by researching technical specs. The pic below should provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and A77 II.

As you have seen, the 2 cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-500 with its smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony A77 II will render greater detail having an extra 16 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-500 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.