Nikon D3400 vs Olympus E-500

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D3400 and the Olympus E-500, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon D3400 was introduced in August 2016 and Olympus E-500 was introduced in October 2005. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D3400 over Olympus E-500.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus E-500 over Nikon D3400.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon D3400 has a 3.0" screen with 921k dot resolution and Olympus E-500 has a 2.5" screen with 215k dot resolution. Both have Fixed screens.

Viewfinder

Nikon D3400 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinderOlympus E-500 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. They both have 95% coverage.

Nikon D3400 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600. Olympus E-500 features a 8 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CCD sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 400 and expands to 100 - 1,600 in boosted mode.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Nikon D3400 is equipped with EXPEED 4 processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4496 x 3000, 2992 x 2000 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Olympus E-500 can take pictures up to 3264 x 2448 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3200 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 4:3 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Nikon D3400 has Nikon F lens mount and Olympus E-500 has Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Nikon D3400 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Olympus E-500 its crop factor is equal to 2x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon D3400

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon D3400. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Nikon D3400 it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Olympus E-500 nothing can be done. On Olympus E-500 it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Nikon D3400 nothing can be done.

Bluetooth on Nikon D3400

Nikon D3400 has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D3400 comes with EN-EL14a battery pack with battery life of 1200 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D3400 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot. Olympus E-500 has a single Compact Flash (Type I/II), xD Picture Card card slot.

Shutter

Nikon D3400 has Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon D3400, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus E-500. Nikon D3400 can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Olympus E-500 can shoot continuously up to 2.5 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D3400 has 11 (1 cross-type) focusing points and Olympus E-500 has 3 focusing points. Nikon D3400 has detection range from -1 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D3400 ranges from 0 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon D3400 and ±5 EV range on Olympus E-500. You can also do exposure lock and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D3400 and exposure lock and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus E-500.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 7.00 m at ISO 100 on Nikon D3400 and 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Olympus E-500. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe to Nikon D3400. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon D3400 and 1/180 sec on Olympus E-500.

Nikon D3400 body has dimensions of 124 x 98 x 76 mm (4.88 x 3.86 x 2.99") and Olympus E-500 body has dimensions of 130 x 95 x 66 mm (5.12 x 3.74 x 2.6"). Nikon D3400 weighs 445 g (0.98 lb / 15.70 oz) and Olympus E-500 weighs 479 g (1.06 lb / 16.90 oz).

Nikon D3400

Olympus E-500

124 mm

98 mm

130 mm

95 mm

98 mm

95 mm