Olympus E-500 Review

Overall Score

41

Main Features

  • 8 MP Four Thirds CCD Sensor
  • 100 - 400 ISO
  • 2" Fixed Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) Viewfinder
  • 3 fps continuous shooting
  • Built-In Wireless
  • 130 x 95 x 66 mm, 479g.
  • Price Category:
  • Replaced by: E-510

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Olympus E-500 Overview


First introduced in October, 2005, Olympus E-500 is a 8 MP DSLR with a Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sized CCD sensor.

Olympus replaced E-500 with Olympus E-510. Follow the link to read our detailed comparison of these models:

Compare Olympus E-500 with Olympus E-510


Proc and Cons of Olympus E-500


Get to know this camera closer. Let's look at the features and characteristics of this model. Compare Olympus E-500 with competitors in semi-pro dslr cameras.

Pros
Built-in Wireless
Optical Viewfinder
3.0 fps Continuous Shooting
Manual Focus
479g Light Body
External Flash
RAW Support
1/4000s Max Shutter Speed
Manual Exposure Mode
Flash Sync Port
Cons
No Bluetooth
No Touch Screen
No Image Stabilization
No Environmental Sealing
Low Max Native ISO: 400
Low Screen Resolution: 215k dots
No Articulating Screen
No Full HD Video
No AF Face Detection
Low Resolution Sensor: 8 MP
Small LCD Screen: 2"
Slow Continuous Shooting: 215 fps
Type Scores

Olympus E-500 has an Overall Score of 41/100 and ranked #186 out of 206 in DSLR cameras, and ranked #763 out of 1222 in all cameras.

Olympus E-500 Scores
Imaging score
35
Features score
35
Value for money score
58
Portability score
82
Overall score
41
Average Scores in Semi-Pro DSLR
Imaging Score
55
Features Score
58
Value For Money Score
73
Portability Score
70
Overall score
61

Physical Dimensions of Olympus E-500


Olympus E-500 weighs 479g and has external dimensions of 130 x 95 x 66mm (5.12 x 3.74 x 2.6"). Considering that the average weight of Semi-Pro DSLR cameras is 783g, Olympus E-500 is 304 grams less than the average weight of cameras in this category. Olympus E-500 is less by 11mm more than the average length in Semi-Pro DSLR.

Weight Comparison
Semi-Pro DSLR Cameras


Olympus E-500
479g
Average weight
783g
Min weight
479g
Max weight
1074g

Thickness Comparison
Semi-Pro DSLR Cameras


Olympus E-500
66mm
Average Thickness
75mm
Min Thickness
64mm
Max Thickness
86mm

Here is the front and top view image of Olympus E-500 with the dimensions:

Olympus E-500

Size Compared to Major Competitors


Model Weight E-500 Dimensions E-500
Olympus E-510 Olympus E-510 490 g 479 g 136 x 92 x 68 mm 130 x 95 x 66 mm
Olympus E-520 Olympus E-520 552 g 479 g 136 x 92 x 68 mm 130 x 95 x 66 mm
Nikon D3300 Nikon D3300 430 g 479 g 124 x 98 x 76 mm 130 x 95 x 66 mm
Nikon D5300 Nikon D5300 480 g 479 g 125 x 98 x 76 mm 130 x 95 x 66 mm
Canon EOS 70D Canon 70D 755 g 479 g 139 x 104 x 79 mm 130 x 95 x 66 mm
Nikon D5200 Nikon D5200 555 g 479 g 129 x 98 x 78 mm 130 x 95 x 66 mm
Olympus OM-D E-M5 II Olympus E-M5 II 469 g 479 g 124 x 85 x 45 mm 130 x 95 x 66 mm
Olympus E-420 Olympus E-420 426 g 479 g 130 x 91 x 53 mm 130 x 95 x 66 mm

Specifications of Olympus E-500


General
Brand Olympus
Model E-500
Announced October, 2005
Body Type Mid-size SLR
Lens
Lens Mount Four Thirds
Manual Focus
Focal Lens Multiplier 2
Number of Lenses 45
Macro Focus Range n/a
Screen
Screen Size 2"
Screen Type Fixed
Screen Resolution 215k pixels
Touch Screen
Live View
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 95%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.45
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 3
Number of Cross Focus Points 0
Photography Features
RAW Support
Min Shutter Speed 1/60 sec
Max Shutter Speed 1/4000 sec
Continuous Shooting 3.0 fps
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Exposure Compensation
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 13.00
Flash Modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye
External Flash
AE Bracketing
AE Bracketing Range ± EV
WB Bracketing
Sensor
Sensor Size Four Thirds
Sensor Type CCD
Sensor Dimensions - mm
Sensor Area 0.0 mm²
Sensor Resolution 8 MP
Max Image Resolution 3264 x 2448
Max Native ISO 400
Min Native ISO 100
Max Boosted ISO 1600
Min Boosted ISO 0
Video Features
4K
Max Video Resolution None
Video Formats
Timelapse Recording
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Exposure Modes
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
Connectivity
GPS None
Wireless Connectivity Built-In
Bluetooth
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
Battery
Battery Life 0 shots
Battery Type
Battery Model
Physical
Weight 479 g
Physical Dimensions 130 x 95 x 66 mm
Environmental Sealing
Water Proof
Dust Proof
Shock Proof
Crush Proof
Freeze Proof
Shock Proof
Storage
Storage Type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card
Storage Slots 1
Other Features
Self Timer
Selfie Friendly

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