Olympus E-PL1s vs Sony A500

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-PL1s versus Sony A500, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the E-PL1s (12MP) and the A500 (12MP) is very close but the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and A500 (APS-C) possess totally different sensor dimensions.

Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

The E-PL1s was introduced 15 months after the A500 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving in to a more detailed comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the E-PL1s matches up vs the A500 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1s and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery and Sony A500 Gallery.

In case you're intending to travel with your camera, you're going to have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL1s comes with physical measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") having a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) while the Sony A500 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL1s versus Sony A500 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Here is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL1s versus the A500.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1s and A500 is 86 and 63 respectively.

Oftentimes, it can be difficult to envision the difference in sensor dimensions purely by viewing a spec sheet. The image here will provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL1s and A500.

Clearly, each of the cameras posses the exact same MP but not the same sensor dimensions. The E-PL1s uses the smaller sensor which will make getting shallow DOF tougher. The more recent E-PL1s is going to have an advantage when it comes to sensor technology.