Canon PowerShot S500 vs. Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500

Comparison

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PowerShot S500 image
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E-500 / EVOLT E-500 image
Canon PowerShot S500 Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500
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Megapixels
5.00
8.00
Max. image resolution
2592 x 1944
3264 x 2448

Sensor

Sensor type
CCD
CCD
Sensor size
1/1.8" (~ 7.11 x 5.33 mm)
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
Sensor resolution
2579 x 1939
3262 x 2453
Diagonal
8.89 mm
21.64 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
1 : 5.93
(ratio)
Canon PowerShot S500 Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500
Surface area:
37.90 mm² vs 224.90 mm²
Difference: 187 mm² (493%)
E-500 / EVOLT E-500 sensor is approx. 5.93x bigger than S500 sensor.
Pixel pitch
2.76 µm
5.3 µm
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Difference: 2.54 µm (92%)
Pixel pitch of E-500 / EVOLT E-500 is approx. 92% higher than pixel pitch of S500.
Pixel area
7.62 µm²
28.09 µm²
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 20.47 µm² (269%)
A pixel on Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 sensor is approx. 269% bigger than a pixel on Canon S500.
Pixel density
13.16 MP/cm²
3.56 MP/cm²
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Difference: 9.6 µm (270%)
Canon S500 has approx. 270% higher pixel density than Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon S500
Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500
Crop factor
4.87
2
Total megapixels
5.20
8.90
Effective megapixels
5.00
8.00
Optical zoom
3x
Digital zoom
Yes
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
Auto, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 50, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200, 4000, 5000, 6400, 8000, 10000, 12800
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
46 cm
Macro focus range
5 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
36 - 108 mm
Aperture priority
No
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.9
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f13.6 - f23.9
n/a
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, ESP Digital, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
Shutter priority
No
Yes
Min. shutter speed
15 sec
B+60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/2000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (tunnel)
Optical
White balance presets
5
3
Screen size
1.5"
2.5"
Screen resolution
118,000 dots
215,250 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
Storage types
Compact Flash (Type I)
CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive, xD Picture
USB
USB 1.0
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NB-1LH Battery
Li-Ion
Weight
215 g
479 g
Dimensions
87 x 57 x 28 mm
129.5 x 94.5 x 66 mm
Year
2004
2005




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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Canon S500 diagonal

The diagonal of S500 sensor is not 1/1.8 or 0.56" (14.1 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 8.89 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.11 mm
h = 5.33 mm
Diagonal =  7.11² + 5.33²   = 8.89 mm

Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 diagonal

w = 17.30 mm
h = 13.00 mm
Diagonal =  17.30² + 13.00²   = 21.64 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

S500 sensor area

Width = 7.11 mm
Height = 5.33 mm

Surface area = 7.11 × 5.33 = 37.90 mm²

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 sensor area

Width = 17.30 mm
Height = 13.00 mm

Surface area = 17.30 × 13.00 = 224.90 mm²


Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel pitch =   sensor width in mm  × 1000
sensor resolution width in pixels

S500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.11  × 1000  = 2.76 µm
2579

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3262 pixels
Pixel pitch =   17.30  × 1000  = 5.3 µm
3262


Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area =   sensor surface area in mm²
effective megapixels

S500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.76 µm

Pixel area = 2.76² = 7.62 µm²

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.3 µm

Pixel area = 5.3² = 28.09 µm²


Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel density =  ( sensor resolution width in pixels )² / 1000000
sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:
Pixel density =   effective megapixels × 1000000  / 10000
sensor surface area in mm²

S500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 2579 pixels
Sensor width = 0.711 cm

Pixel density = (2579 / 0.711)² / 1000000 = 13.16 MP/cm²

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3262 pixels
Sensor width = 1.73 cm

Pixel density = (3262 / 1.73)² / 1000000 = 3.56 MP/cm²


Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000    →   
X =  effective megapixels × 1000000
r
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

S500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.11 mm
Sensor height = 5.33 mm
Effective megapixels = 5.00
r = 7.11/5.33 = 1.33
X =  5.00 × 1000000  = 1939
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 1939 × 1.33 = 2579
Resolution vertical: X = 1939

Sensor resolution = 2579 x 1939

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 17.30 mm
Sensor height = 13.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 8.00
r = 17.30/13.00 = 1.33
X =  8.00 × 1000000  = 2453
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2453 × 1.33 = 3262
Resolution vertical: X = 2453

Sensor resolution = 3262 x 2453


Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
Crop factor =   43.27 mm
sensor diagonal in mm


S500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 8.89 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.87
8.89

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 21.64 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2
21.64

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

S500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.87
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.9

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.9) × 4.87 = f13.6 - f23.9

E-500 / EVOLT E-500 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Olympus E-500 / EVOLT E-500 is 2

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