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Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS

Portability
68
Imaging
45
Features
45
Overall
45
Olympus E-520 front
 
Olympus SZ-16 iHS front
Portability
89
Imaging
40
Features
36
Overall
38

Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Key Specs

Olympus E-520
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 552g - 136 x 92 x 68mm
  • Launched August 2008
  • Old Model is Olympus E-510
Olympus SZ-16 iHS
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 108 x 70 x 40mm
  • Revealed January 2013
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Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Overview

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are sold by Olympus. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and SZ-16 iHS (16MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and SZ-16 iHS (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

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The E-520 was unveiled 5 years before the SZ-16 iHS and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-520 scores vs the SZ-16 iHS with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-520 over the Olympus SZ-16 iHS

 E-520 SZ-16 iHS 
Manually focus Dial precise focus

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-16 iHS over the Olympus E-520

 SZ-16 iHS E-520 
RevealedJanuary 2013August 2008More recent by 53 months
Display dimensions3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution460k230kCrisper display (+230k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-520 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS

 E-520 SZ-16 iHS 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen
Touch display Neither comes with Touch display

Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to lug around your camera regularly, you will need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-520 comes with outside dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") accompanied by a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) whilst the Olympus SZ-16 iHS has proportions of 108mm x 70mm x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are working with at that time. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-520 against the SZ-16 iHS.

Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-520 and SZ-16 iHS is 68 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Sensor Comparison

Normally, it is very tough to visualize the contrast between sensor measurements merely by looking at technical specs. The visual below will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and SZ-16 iHS.

As you have seen, both of those cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-520 with its larger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus SZ-16 iHS will give you more detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images a bit more aggressively. The older E-520 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS sensor size comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-520
Portrait photography with Olympus SZ-16 iHS
59
focusing manually
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detect autofocus
saves RAW files
sensor resolution not great (10 megapixels)
35
decent megapixels (16MP)
supports face detection autofocus
focusing manually not possible
manual mode not available
no external flash support
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-520 Street photography highlights
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Street photography highlights
65
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
screen does not articulate
61
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition in class (226g)
no moving screen
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-520 Sports photography features
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Sports photography features
55
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
better than average battery (650 CIPA)
comes with phase detect autofocus
max fps very slow (4.0 frames per second)
sensor resolution not great (10 megapixels)
42
amazing zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (16MP)
supports tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority
small sensor size (1/2.3")
not so great battery (220 CIPA)
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-520 Travel photography advice
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Travel photography advice
52
better than average battery (650 shots)
flash built-in
no Timelapse mode
sensor resolution not great (10MP)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
65
lighter than competition in class (226 grams)
decent megapixels (16MP)
flash built-in
rather wide (25mm)
great zoom (600mm)
missing Timelapse recording
not so great battery (220 CIPA)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
slow max aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-520 Landscape photography details
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Landscape photography details
58
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
better than average battery (650 shots)
screen is small (2.7 inches)
sensor resolution not great (10MP)
no Timelapse mode
41
rather wide (25mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (16MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.0)
manual mode not available
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
not so great battery (220 CIPA)
missing Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-520 Vlogging details
Olympus SZ-16 iHS Vlogging details
9
no video recording
31
rather wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports face detection autofocus
lighter than competition in class (226g)
slow max aperture (f3.0)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external microphone jack
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Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SZ-16 iHS Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-520 and Olympus SZ-16 iHS
 Olympus E-520Olympus SZ-16 iHS
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-520 Olympus SZ-16 iHS
Category Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2008-08-20 2013-01-08
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 -
Full resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 1600 6400
Minimum native ISO 100 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 3 -
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Amount of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 2.7" 3"
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 460 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech - TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 4 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 4.0 frames per sec 2.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) -
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps)
Max video resolution None 1280x720
Video file format - MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 552 grams (1.22 lb) 226 grams (0.50 lb)
Physical dimensions 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") 108 x 70 x 40mm (4.3" x 2.8" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.4 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 548 not tested
Other
Battery life 650 photos 220 photos
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Price at launch $400 $230