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Olympus 1s vs Sony A500

Portability
79
Imaging
38
Features
66
Overall
49
Olympus Stylus 1s front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 front
Portability
63
Imaging
52
Features
52
Overall
52

Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 Key Specs

Olympus 1s
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/1.7" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28-300mm (F2.8) lens
  • 402g - 116 x 87 x 57mm
  • Released April 2015
  • Succeeded the Olympus 1
Sony A500
(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
  • Introduced August 2009
  • Later Model is Sony A560
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Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 Overview

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus 1s versus Sony A500, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the 1s (12MP) and the A500 (12MP) is very comparable but the 1s (1/1.7") and A500 (APS-C) have different sensor sizing.

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The 1s was manufactured 5 years later than the A500 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus 1s being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going into a more detailed comparison, here is a simple overview of how the 1s matches up vs the A500 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus 1s over the Sony A500

 1s A500 
IntroducedApril 2015August 2009Fresher by 69 months
Display resolution1040k230kSharper display (+810k dot)
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Olympus 1s

 A500 1s 

Common features in the Olympus 1s and Sony A500

 1s A500 
Focus manually Dial exact focusing
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display measurement
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen

Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 Physical Comparison

If you are intending to carry your camera, you will want to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus 1s comes with exterior dimensions of 116mm x 87mm x 57mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.2") accompanied by a weight of 402 grams (0.89 lbs) and the Sony A500 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus 1s versus Sony A500 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Here is a front view measurement comparison of the 1s compared to the A500.

Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the 1s and A500 is 79 and 63 respectively.

Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 top view buttons comparison

Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it's difficult to picture the gap in sensor sizing just by going through technical specs. The graphic here should give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the 1s and A500.

As you can tell, both of those cameras provide the same megapixels but different sensor sizing. The 1s contains the smaller sensor which will make obtaining shallow depth of field more difficult. The newer 1s provides an edge with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 sensor size comparison

Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus 1s Portrait photography features
Sony A500 Portrait photography features
46
manual focus
features face detect focus
delivers RAW formats
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/1.7")
63
manual focus
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
includes face detect autofocus
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12MP)
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Street Comparison

Olympus 1s Street photography advice
Sony A500 Street photography advice
71
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Optical)
delivers RAW formats
has touch focus
sensor size is very small (1/1.7")
74
screen tilts
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus 1s Sports photography details
Sony A500 Sports photography details
44
image stabilization (Optical)
features tracking focus
good battery life (450 shots)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/1.7")
has no phase detect auto focus
51
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
has phase detect autofocus
continuous shooting slow (5.0 fps)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
terrible battery life (520 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus 1s
Travel photography with Sony A500
64
good battery life (450 shots)
has touch focus
flash built-in
decently wide (28mm)
great reach (300mm)
resolution not great (12MP)
does not feature selfie friendly display
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
43
flash built-in
no Time Lapse function
terrible battery life (520 per charge)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
does not have selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus 1s Landscape photography information
Sony A500 Landscape photography information
53
manual focus
decently wide (28mm)
good sized screen (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
delivers RAW formats
good battery life (450 shots)
can't change lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/1.7")
60
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12 megapixels)
terrible battery life (520 per charge)
no Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus 1s
Vlogging with Sony A500
32
decently wide (28mm)
touchscreen
image stabilization (Optical)
features face detect focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
does not feature selfie friendly display
lack of mic jack
9
can't record video
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Olympus 1s vs Sony A500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus 1s and Sony A500
 Olympus Stylus 1sSony Alpha DSLR-A500
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Sony
Model Olympus Stylus 1s Sony Alpha DSLR-A500
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2015-04-13 2009-08-27
Body design SLR-like (bridge) Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor - Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/1.7" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 7.44 x 5.58mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 41.5mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 3968 x 2976 4272 x 2848
Max native ISO 12800 12800
Lowest native ISO 100 200
RAW images
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 28-300mm (10.7x) -
Largest aperture f/2.8 -
Macro focus distance 5cm -
Available lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 4.8 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Tilting
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Resolution of screen 1,040 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.53x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter speed 7.0fps 5.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 10.30 m (at ISO 1600) 12.00 m
Flash settings Auto, redeye reduction, fill-on, off, redeye reduction slow sync, full, manual Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash sync - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p) -
Max video resolution 1920x1080 None
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264 -
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 402g (0.89 lb) 630g (1.39 lb)
Physical dimensions 116 x 87 x 57mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.2") 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO Overall 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 450 images 520 images
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-50 NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC card SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Launch cost $699 $638