Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SH-1

The following is a thorough review of the Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SH-1, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both offered by Olympus. There exists a big gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and SH-1 (16MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and SH-1 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-520 was revealed 6 years prior to the SH-1 which is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus SH-1 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise summation of how the E-520 scores against the SH-1 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-520 and Olympus Stylus SH-1. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-520 Gallery and Olympus SH-1 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to travel with your camera, you'll need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-520 offers outside dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") along with a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) and the Olympus SH-1 has dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-520 vs Olympus SH-1 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you use at that time. Below is the front view physical size comparison of the E-520 compared to the SH-1.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-520 and SH-1 is 68 and 88 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very hard to envision the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by checking specs. The image underneath will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and SH-1.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-520 using its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus SH-1 will give you more detail because of its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-520 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.