Nikon P500 vs Olympus E-M5 Comparison

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Nikon P500

12 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

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Olympus E-M5

16 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Nikon P500 vs Olympus E-M5 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Nikon P500, which was introduced in February 2011 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 12.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Olympus E-M5, which was introduced in April 2012 is a Advanced Mirrorless camera with a 16.0MP Four Thirds sensor. There is 15 months difference between P500 and E-M5 so we don't expect to see a huge technology difference between these two cameras but it would still give an advantage to younger E-M5, especially in sensor tech.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon P500 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2011-02-09

12MP - 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS Sensor

ISO 160 - 3200

23-810 mm F3.4-5.7 Zoom Lens

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Tilting Screen

Electronic viewfinder

1 fps continuous shooting

Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

240fps High-Speed Video

494g. 116 x 84 x 103 mm

Olympus E-M5 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2012-04-30

16MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

ISO 200 - 25600 ( expands to 100)

Micro Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Tilting Screen

1440k dot Electronic viewfinder

9 fps continuous shooting

Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

425g. 122 x 89 x 43 mm

Weather Sealed Body

Nikon P500 was replaced by Nikon Coolpix P510. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon Coolpix P510 vs Nikon Coolpix P500
Nikon Coolpix P510 vs Olympus OM-D E-M5

Olympus E-M5 was replaced by Olympus OM-D E-M5 II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus OM-D E-M5 II vs Olympus OM-D E-M5
Olympus OM-D E-M5 II vs Nikon Coolpix P500

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon Coolpix P500 over Olympus OM-D E-M5

Built-in Flash	Yes vs No	Useful in low-light
LCD Screen Resolution	921k dots vs 610k dots	50% higher resolution screen

Reasons to choose Olympus OM-D E-M5 over Nikon Coolpix P500

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs No	Better for flash photography
Touch Screen	Yes vs No	Easy control of camera functions
RAW Support	Yes vs No	Better image quality
Max Sensor Resolution	16 MP vs 12 MP	33% more pixels
Max ISO	25.600 vs 3.200	700% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points	35 vs 9	26 more focus points
Max Mech. Shutter	1/4000s vs 1/1500s	faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting	9.0fps vs 1.0fps	8 fps faster
Battery Life	360 shots vs 220 shots	140 more frames with a single charge
Weight	425 g vs 494 g	69 g lighter
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs No	shoot at tough conditions
Sensor Pixel Area	14.12µm² vs 2.34µm²	503% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing	Yes vs No	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Strengths of Nikon Coolpix P500 and Olympus OM-D E-M5

Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs Sensor-shift	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Adjustable LCD Screen	Tilting vs Tilting	Flexible shooting positions
Viewfinder	Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Electronic)	Better framing and control
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs Yes	very handy for portraits

Common Weaknesses of Nikon Coolpix P500 and Olympus OM-D E-M5

Nikon P500 vs Olympus E-M5: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon P500 has external dimensions of 116 x 84 x 10 mm (4.57 x 3.31 x 4.06″) and weighs 494 g (1.09 lb / 17.43 oz) (including batteries). Olympus E-M5 has external dimensions of 122 x 89 x 43 mm (4.8 x 3.5 x 1.69″) and weighs 425 g (0.94 lb / 14.99 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5. Nikon P500 is 6mm narrower and 5mm shorter than Olympus E-M5 but it is also 60mm thicker. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Nikon P500 has a built-in lens but Olympus E-M5 doesn't. Once you put a lens on E-M5, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5.

Comparison image of Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5.

Top View Comparison image of Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus E-M5 is significantly lighter (69g ) than the Nikon P500 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on E-M5, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Thanks to the weather sealed body of E-M5, you can use this camera with more confidence under conditions where there is risk of exposure to water and dust compared to P500.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

Both cameras feature Tilting screens where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels.

Nikon P500 vs Olympus E-M5: Sensor Comparison

Nikon P500 has a 12.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Expeed C2 processor. On the other hand, Olympus E-M5 has a 16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VI processor.

Below you can see the P500 and E-M5 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 Cameras

As seen above, Olympus E-M5 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Nikon P500. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Nikon P500 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-M5 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details

Nikon P500 for Street Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-M5 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
23 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Medium sized Body
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Nikon P500 for Sports Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-M5 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
810 mm Tele Lens
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
Slow Continuous Shooting: 1.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Slow Max shutter speed: 1/1500s
9 Focus Points
Poor Battery Life: 220 shots
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.70
Read the details

Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 9.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
35 Focus Points
Read the details

Nikon P500 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-M5 for Daily Photography

GOOD

35.2X Optical Zoom
Medium size Body
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
494g
Body Thickness 103mm
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
425g
Body Thickness 43mm
Read the details

Nikon P500 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus E-M5 for Landscape Photography

POOR

23 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details

Nikon P500 vs Olympus E-M5: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Nikon P500 and Olympus E-M5 scores compare:

Nikon P500

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #50 out of 113 in SLR-like (bridge) cameras
Ranked #556 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Olympus E-M5

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #73 out of 88 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #210 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Olympus E-M5 is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon P500 in all criteria.
It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money

Olympus E-M5 vs Nikon P500 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Nikon Coolpix P500	Olympus OM-D E-M5
Brand	Nikon	Olympus
Announced	2011-02-09	2012-04-30
Body Type	SLR-like (bridge)	SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type	BSI-CMOS	CMOS
Size	1/2.3-inch	Four Thirds
Dimensions	6.17 x 4.55 mm	17.3 x 13 mm
Area	28.07mm²	224.90mm²
Megapixels	12 megapixels	16 megapixels
Max Resolution	4000 x 3000	4608 x 3456
Max Native Light sensitivity	3,200 ISO	25,600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity	160 ISO	200 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity	-	100 ISO
RAW Support
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	9	35
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	fixed lens	Micro Four Thirds
Lens Focal Range	23-810 mm (36×)	no lens
Max Aperture	F3.4-5.7	no lens
Macro Focus Range	1cm	no lens
Screen
Type	Tilting	Tilting
Size	3"	3"
Resolution	921k dots	610k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Electronic	Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution	n/a	1,440k dots
Viewfinder Coverage	n/a	100%
Viewfinder Magnification	n/a	0.58x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/1500s	1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	8.00 m	no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/250s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	1.0 fps	9.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	1920 x 1080	1920 x 1080
Video Formats	MPEG-4, H.264	H.264, Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	Eye-Fi Connected
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	494g	425g
Dimensions	116 x 84 x 103mm	122 x 89 x 43mm
Battery Life	220 shots	360 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	71
DxO Color Depth	not tested	22.8
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	12.3
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	826
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