Nikon P520 vs Olympus E-PL6

Lets look a bit more closely at the Nikon P520 versus Olympus E-PL6, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Nikon and Olympus. The sensor resolution of the P520 (18MP) and the E-PL6 (16MP) is pretty well matched but the P520 (1/2.3") and E-PL6 (Four Thirds) boast totally different sensor sizing.

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The P520 was brought out 18 months prior to the E-PL6 which makes them a generation away from one another. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Nikon P520 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Olympus E-PL6 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going into a detailed comparison, here is a short summation of how the P520 matches up versus the E-PL6 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Nikon Coolpix P520 and Olympus PEN E-PL6. The entire galleries are available at Nikon P520 Gallery and Olympus E-PL6 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to travel with your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and size. The Nikon P520 comes with external dimensions of 125mm x 84mm x 102mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 4.0") and a weight of 550 grams (1.21 lbs) whilst the Olympus E-PL6 has specifications of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs).

See the Nikon P520 versus Olympus E-PL6 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you use at that moment. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the P520 compared to the E-PL6.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the P520 and E-PL6 is 66 and 88 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions merely by checking specifications. The pic underneath will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the P520 and E-PL6.

To sum up, the 2 cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The P520 featuring a tinier sensor will make getting bokeh more difficult and the Nikon P520 will give more detail having its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots more aggressively. The more aged P520 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.