Olympus E-500 vs Ricoh WG-4 GPS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Olympus E-500 and the Ricoh WG-4 GPS, 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.

Olympus E-500 was introduced in October 2005 and Ricoh WG-4 GPS was introduced in February 2014. 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 Olympus E-500 over Ricoh WG-4 GPS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Ricoh WG-4 GPS over Olympus E-500.

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

Olympus E-500 has a 2.5" screen with 215k dot resolution and Ricoh WG-4 GPS has a 3.0" screen with 460k dot resolution. Both have Fixed screens.

Optical (pentaprism) Viewfinder on Olympus E-500

Olympus E-500 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. It has a 95% coverage and 0.90x (0.45x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Ricoh WG-4 GPS.

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 224.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 400 and expands to 100 - 1,600 in boosted mode. Ricoh WG-4 GPS features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 125 - 6,400.

Ricoh WG-4 GPS has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

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. Ricoh WG-4 GPS can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 2592, 3456 x 3456, 3072 x 2304, 3072 x 1728, 2592 x 1464, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 640 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Ricoh WG-4 GPS has an image stabilization.

Built-in GPS on Ricoh WG-4 GPS

Ricoh WG-4 GPS has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

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

Battery

Ricoh WG-4 GPS comes with D-LI92 battery pack with battery life of 240 shots.

External Storage Slots

Olympus E-500 has a single Compact Flash (Type I/II), xD Picture Card card slot. Ricoh WG-4 GPS has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus E-500, and up to 1/4000 sec on Ricoh WG-4 GPS. Olympus E-500 can shoot continuously up to 2.5 fps. Ricoh WG-4 GPS can shoot continuously up to 1.5 fps.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Olympus E-500 and 10.00 m Auto ISO on Ricoh WG-4 GPS. Olympus E-500 also accepts external flash. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Olympus E-500.

Olympus E-500 body has dimensions of 130 x 95 x 66 mm (5.12 x 3.74 x 2.6") and Ricoh WG-4 GPS body has dimensions of 124 x 64 x 33 mm (4.88 x 2.52 x 1.3"). Olympus E-500 weighs 479 g (1.06 lb / 16.90 oz) and Ricoh WG-4 GPS weighs 235 g (0.52 lb / 8.29 oz).

Olympus E-500

Ricoh WG-4 GPS

130 mm

95 mm

124 mm

64 mm