Olympus E-M1 III vs Samsung NX500

On this page, we will be comparing the Olympus E-M1 III versus Samsung NX500, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Samsung. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-M1 III (20MP) and NX500 (28MP) and the E-M1 III (Four Thirds) and NX500 (APS-C) provide different sensor size.

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The E-M1 III was released 5 years later than the NX500 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M1 III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Samsung NX500 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight to a complete comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the E-M1 III scores versus the NX500 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III & Samsung NX500. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M1 III Gallery & Samsung NX500 Gallery.

When you are planning to lug around your camera, you will want to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M1 III has outside dimensions of 134mm x 91mm x 69mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.7") along with a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs) whilst the Samsung NX500 has sizing of 120mm x 64mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M1 III versus Samsung NX500 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-M1 III compared to the NX500.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-M1 III and NX500 is 67 and 87 respectively.

More often than not, it's difficult to visualize the gap in sensor measurements purely by going through specs. The photograph below will provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M1 III and NX500.

All in all, both of these cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M1 III featuring a smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Samsung NX500 will produce greater detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more recent E-M1 III provides an advantage in sensor technology.