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Olympus E-M5 Mark III vs Nikon D500

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Olympus E-M5 III

20 MP | Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

Olympus E-M5 III
$1199.00

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Nikon D500

21 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) CMOS Sensor

Nikon D500
$1496.95

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Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Olympus E-M5 III, which was introduced in October 2019 is a Semi-Pro Mirrorless camera with a 20.0MP Four Thirds sensor whereas Nikon D500, which was introduced in January 2016 is a Semi-Pro DSLR camera with a 21.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, D500 is 3 years older than E-M5 Mark III. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious alternatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting. Fortunately, you can't go wrong with any of these cameras as we rank them amongst Top 10 cameras in their classes. Olympus E-M5 III is ranked #7 out of 51 Semi-Pro Mirrorless cameras with an overall score of 77 whereas Nikon D500 is ranked #7 out of 91 Semi-Pro DSLR cameras with an overall score of 83.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Olympus E-M5 III Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2019-10-17
  • 20MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3 Fully Articulated Screen
  • 2360k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 30.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 4096 x 2160 video resolution
  • 120 High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 414g. 125 x 85 x 50 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Olympus OM-D E-M5 II Compare

Nikon D500 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2016-01-05
  • 21MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter
  • ISO 100 - 51200 ( expands to 50-1640000)
  • Nikon F Mount
  • 3.2" Tilting Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 10.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 860g. 147 x 115 x 81 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Nikon D300s Compare

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Olympus OM-D E-M5 III over Nikon D500
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift vs None All the lenses are stabilized
Continuous Shooting 30.0fps vs 10.0fps 20 fps faster
Weight 414 g vs 860 g 446 g lighter
Max Video Resolution 4096 x 2160 vs 3840 x 2160 Higher Resolution Video
Pixel Shift High Resolution Mode Yes (50.0MP) vs No Increased resolution with pixel shift
Focus Bracketing Yes vs No Take multiple photos shifting focus point
Focus Stacking Yes vs No Stacks photos in-camera to maximize depth of field
Reasons to choose Nikon D500 over Olympus OM-D E-M5 III
Max Sensor Resolution 21 MP vs 20 MP 5% more pixels
Max ISO 51.200 vs 25.600 100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points 153 vs 121 32 more focus points
LCD Screen Size 3.2" vs 3 0.2 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution 2.359k dots vs 1.040k dots 126% higher resolution screen
Battery Life 1240 shots vs 310 shots 930 more frames with a single charge
Headphone Port Yes vs No better video control
Sensor Pixel Area 17.85µm2 vs 11.22µm2 59% larger pixel area
Top LCD Yes vs No Help viewing and changing settings easily
Flash Sync Port Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
NFC Connection Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Illuminated Buttons Yes vs No Find the buttons easily in dark
Storage Slot 2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
Autofocus at f/8 aperture 15 points vs none Autofocus with teleconverters
Common Strengths of Olympus OM-D E-M5 III and Nikon D500
Wireless Connection Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Bluetooth Connection Yes vs Yes Connect to other devices via Bluetooth
Articulating Screen Yes vs Yes Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Touch Screen Yes vs Yes Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Optical) Better framing and control
RAW Support Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution 20 MP vs 21 MP Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Size 3 vs 3.2" Large display
LCD Screen Resolution 1.040k dots vs 2.359k dots Higher resolution screens
Continuous Shooting 30.0fps vs 10.0fps Fast shooting speeds
Microphone Port Yes vs Yes High quality audio recording option
Environmental Sealing Yes vs Yes shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording Yes vs Yes creative shooting
AE Bracketing Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Dual-axis Electronic Level Yes vs Yes Level the camera easily in two axis
Smartphone Remote Control Yes vs Yes Remote control your camera with a smartphone
Support for UHS Memory Cards UHS-II vs UHS-II Read/Write in Ultra High Speeds
Common Weaknesses of Olympus OM-D E-M5 III and Nikon D500
Built-in Flash No vs No Require external flash
Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500: 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 Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions.

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500. Olympus E-M5 III is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 22mm narrower, 30mm shorter and 31mm thinner than Nikon D500.

Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500 Camera Size Comparison - Front View


Here is the back view size comparison of Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500.

Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500 Camera Size Comparison - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500.
Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500 Camera Size Comparison - Top View

Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500 Detailed Size Comparison

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Olympus E-M5 III is significantly lighter (446g ) than the Nikon D500 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Nikon D500 has an APS-C sized sensor and Olympus E-M5 III has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Olympus E-M5 III's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Nikon D500 lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

E-M5 Mark III
D500
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

E-M5 Mark III
D500
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

Both E-M5 Mark III and D500 have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon D500's 3.2" LCD screen is slightly larger than Olympus E-M5 III's 3 screen.

Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500: Sensor Comparison

Olympus E-M5 III has a 20.0MP Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VIII processor. On the other hand, Nikon D500 has a 21.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor.

One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Nikon D500's sensor doesn't have an anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moire occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the E-M5 Mark III and D500 sensor size comparison.

Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500 Sensor Size Comparison


As seen above, Nikon D500 has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-M5 III. 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 Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500 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.

Olympus E-M5 III for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Nikon D500 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Olympus E-M5 III for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Nikon D500 for Street Photography

GOOD
Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details

Olympus E-M5 III for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT

Nikon D500 for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 30.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
121 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
99 Cross Type Focus sensors
153 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 1240 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Olympus E-M5 III for Daily Photography

GOOD

Nikon D500 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
414g
Body Thickness 50mm
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
860g
Body Thickness 81mm
Read the details

Olympus E-M5 III for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon D500 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
Large Four Thirds (17.4 x 13 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 21.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details


Nikon D500 vs Olympus E-M5 III Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Nikon D500 has an advantage over Olympus E-M5 III There are 304 lenses for Nikon D500's Nikon F mount, on the other hand there are only 101 lenses for Olympus E-M5 III's Micro Four Thirds lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Olympus E-M5 III has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. On the other hand, Nikon D500 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 101 lenses for Nikon F mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type # of Olympus E-M5 III Lenses # of Nikon D500 Lenses
Standard Zoom 14 33
Standard Prime 12 20
Wideangle Zoom 5 33
Wideangle Prime 27 47
Telephoto Zoom 17 53
Telephoto Prime 8 43
SuperZoom 8 30
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 5 8
Macro Prime 4 25
Perspective Control Prime n/a 11
Telephoto Mirror Prime 1 1
TOTAL 101 304
Olympus E-M5 III vs Nikon D500: 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 Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500, 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 Olympus E-M5 III and Nikon D500 scores compare:

Olympus E-M5 III
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #29 out of 68 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #64 out of 1190 in all Cameras
Nikon D500
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #9 out of 94 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #26 out of 1190 in all Cameras

Nikon D500 has a higher Overall Score than the Olympus E-M5 III and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Olympus E-M5 III
Olympus E-M5 III
$1199.00

Nikon D500
Nikon D500
$1496.95

Nikon D500 vs Olympus E-M5 III Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Olympus OM-D E-M5 III Nikon D500
Brand Olympus Nikon
Announced 2019-10-17 2016-01-05
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size Four Thirds APS-C
Dimensions 17.4 x 13 mm 23.5 x 15.7 mm
Area 226.20mm2 368.95mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 21 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3888 5568 x 3712
Max Native Light sensitivity 25,600 ISO 51,200 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity - 1640000 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 200 ISO 100 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity 64 ISO 50 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 121 153
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Micro Four Thirds Nikon F
Number of Available Lenses 101 304
Screen
Type Fully Articulated Tilting
Size 3 3.2"
Resolution 1,040k dots 2,359k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Resolution 2,360k dots no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.68 0.66
Photography Features
Max Shutter Speed 1/8000s 1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift No
Built-in Flash
Max Flash Sync 1/250s 1/250s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 30.0 fps 10.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 4096 x 2160 3840 x 2160
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 414g 860g
Dimensions 125 x 85 x 50mm 147 x 115 x 81mm
Battery Life 310 shots 1240 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 84
DxO Color Depth not tested 24.1
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 14.0
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 1324
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