Olympus SH-1 vs Sony A500

Below is a thorough review of the Olympus SH-1 vs Sony A500, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a substantial difference among the sensor resolutions of the SH-1 (16MP) and A500 (12MP) and the SH-1 (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The SH-1 was unveiled 4 years later than the A500 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SH-1 being a Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the SH-1 grades vs the A500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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

If you're intending to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus SH-1 offers outside measurements of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) whilst the Sony A500 has proportions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Examine the Olympus SH-1 vs Sony A500 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are using at that moment. Following is a front view dimension comparison of the SH-1 and the A500.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the SH-1 and A500 is 88 and 63 respectively.

In many cases, it's hard to see the contrast in sensor measurements only by looking through specifications. The photograph underneath might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the SH-1 and A500.

Plainly, both of these cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The SH-1 having a smaller sensor will make getting shallower DOF tougher and the Olympus SH-1 will result in more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop pics way more aggressively. The fresher SH-1 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor technology.