Olympus 1s vs Sony A500

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.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus 1s & Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus 1s Gallery & Sony A500 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.