Olympus E-510 has a
10.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Olympus E-500 has a
8.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CCD sensor .
Below you can see the E-510 and E-500 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus E-510 and Olympus E-500 Cameras
Olympus E-510 and Olympus E-500 have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Olympus E-500 has 24% larger pixel area (28.15µm 2 vs 22.54µm 2 ) compared to Olympus E-510, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Olympus E-510
or the
Olympus E-500 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
