Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500
79 Imaging
36 Features
31 Overall
34
63 Imaging
51 Features
52 Overall
51
Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 28-616mm (F3.3-5.7) lens
- 405g - 107 x 73 x 73mm
- Launched January 2011
- Succeeded the Olympus SP-600 UZ
- Refreshed by Olympus SP-620 UZ
(Full Review)
- 12MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 200 - 12800
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- No Video
- Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
- 630g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
- Announced August 2009
- Later Model is Sony A560
Photography Glossary Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500 Overview
Its time to look more closely at the Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the SP-610UZ (14MP) and the A500 (12MP) is fairly well matched but the SP-610UZ (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) provide different sensor sizing.
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or banThe SP-610UZ was unveiled 17 months later than the A500 making them a generation apart from each other. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SP-610UZ being a Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.
Before diving right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple summation of how the SP-610UZ matches up versus the A500 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.
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Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus SP-610UZ & Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The full galleries are available at Olympus SP-610UZ Gallery & Sony A500 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus SP-610UZ over the Sony A500
| SP-610UZ | A500 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced | January 2011 | August 2009 | More recent by 17 months |
Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Olympus SP-610UZ
| A500 | SP-610UZ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus manually | Very accurate focus | |||
| Display type | Tilting | Fixed | Tilting display |
Common features in the Olympus SP-610UZ and Sony A500
| SP-610UZ | A500 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display dimensions | 3" | 3" | Equal display measurement | |
| Display resolution | 230k | 230k | The same display resolution | |
| Selfie screen | Absent selfie screen | |||
| Touch display | Absent Touch display |
Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500 Physical Comparison
If you're intending to lug around your camera, you are going to need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus SP-610UZ offers outer dimensions of 107mm x 73mm x 73mm (4.2" x 2.9" x 2.9") having a weight of 405 grams (0.89 lbs) whilst the Sony A500 has measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).
Contrast the Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use at that moment. Following is a front view dimensions comparison of the SP-610UZ versus the A500.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the SP-610UZ and A500 is 79 and 63 respectively.
Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500 Sensor Comparison
Often, it is difficult to picture the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading through technical specs. The visual below will help offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the SP-610UZ and A500.
As you can tell, both cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The SP-610UZ with its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more difficult and the Olympus SP-610UZ will resolve extra detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos more aggressively. The fresher SP-610UZ provides a benefit in sensor technology.
Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500 Screen and ViewFinder
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Olympus SP-610UZ vs Sony A500 Specifications
| Olympus SP-610UZ | Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Manufacturer | Olympus | Sony |
| Model | Olympus SP-610UZ | Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 |
| Type | Small Sensor Superzoom | Entry-Level DSLR |
| Launched | 2011-01-06 | 2009-08-27 |
| Physical type | Compact | Compact SLR |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Processor | TruePic III | Bionz |
| Sensor type | CCD | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.3" | APS-C |
| Sensor measurements | 6.17 x 4.55mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
| Sensor surface area | 28.1mm² | 366.6mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 14 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Anti aliasing filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 4:3 and 16:9 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
| Highest resolution | 4288 x 3216 | 4272 x 2848 |
| Highest native ISO | 3200 | 12800 |
| Minimum native ISO | 100 | 200 |
| RAW format | ||
| Autofocusing | ||
| Focus manually | ||
| Touch focus | ||
| Autofocus continuous | ||
| Single autofocus | ||
| Autofocus tracking | ||
| Autofocus selectice | ||
| Autofocus center weighted | ||
| Multi area autofocus | ||
| Live view autofocus | ||
| Face detect autofocus | ||
| Contract detect autofocus | ||
| Phase detect autofocus | ||
| Number of focus points | 11 | 9 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens mounting type | fixed lens | Sony/Minolta Alpha |
| Lens focal range | 28-616mm (22.0x) | - |
| Maximal aperture | f/3.3-5.7 | - |
| Macro focus range | 1cm | - |
| Available lenses | - | 143 |
| Crop factor | 5.8 | 1.5 |
| Screen | ||
| Type of display | Fixed Type | Tilting |
| Display sizing | 3 inch | 3 inch |
| Resolution of display | 230 thousand dots | 230 thousand dots |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch screen | ||
| Display tech | TFT Color LCD | - |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder | None | Optical (pentamirror) |
| Viewfinder coverage | - | 95% |
| Viewfinder magnification | - | 0.53x |
| Features | ||
| Slowest shutter speed | 4 secs | 30 secs |
| Maximum shutter speed | 1/2000 secs | 1/4000 secs |
| Continuous shooting rate | 1.0fps | 5.0fps |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Expose Manually | ||
| Exposure compensation | - | Yes |
| Custom white balance | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Built-in flash | ||
| Flash range | 6.30 m | 12.00 m |
| Flash options | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless |
| Hot shoe | ||
| Auto exposure bracketing | ||
| White balance bracketing | ||
| Maximum flash synchronize | - | 1/160 secs |
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment exposure | ||
| Average exposure | ||
| Spot exposure | ||
| Partial exposure | ||
| AF area exposure | ||
| Center weighted exposure | ||
| Video features | ||
| Supported video resolutions | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) | - |
| Highest video resolution | 1280x720 | None |
| Video data format | Motion JPEG | - |
| Microphone support | ||
| Headphone support | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | Eye-Fi Connected | None |
| Bluetooth | ||
| NFC | ||
| HDMI | ||
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| GPS | None | None |
| Physical | ||
| Environment sealing | ||
| Water proof | ||
| Dust proof | ||
| Shock proof | ||
| Crush proof | ||
| Freeze proof | ||
| Weight | 405g (0.89 pounds) | 630g (1.39 pounds) |
| Physical dimensions | 107 x 73 x 73mm (4.2" x 2.9" x 2.9") | 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO All around score | not tested | 64 |
| DXO Color Depth score | not tested | 21.8 |
| DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | 11.6 |
| DXO Low light score | not tested | 772 |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | 340 images | 520 images |
| Form of battery | AA | Battery Pack |
| Battery model | 4 x AA | NP-FM500H |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
| Time lapse recording | ||
| Storage type | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
| Card slots | Single | Single |
| Price at launch | $299 | $638 |