Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A500

Below, we are matching up the Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A500, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a substantial difference between the image resolutions of the E-M5 II (16MP) and A500 (12MP) and the E-M5 II (Four Thirds) and A500 (APS-C) come with different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-M5 II was announced 5 years after the A500 which is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M5 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving through a step-by-step comparison, below is a simple summation of how the E-M5 II scores against the A500 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus OM-D E-M5 II & Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M5 II Gallery & Sony A500 Gallery.

For those who are going to carry around your camera often, you have to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 II has got physical measurements of 124mm x 85mm x 45mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 1.8") accompanied by a weight of 469 grams (1.03 lbs) while the Sony A500 has specifications of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-M5 II vs Sony A500 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you select at the time. Here is the front view size comparison of the E-M5 II versus the A500.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 II and A500 is 80 and 63 respectively.

Generally, it is hard to picture the gap between sensor sizes simply by reading through specifications. The pic here will help offer you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 II and A500.

Plainly, each of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-M5 II with its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Olympus E-M5 II will resolve extra detail with its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more recent E-M5 II should have a benefit in sensor technology.