Olympus E-520 vs Olympus VG-160

On this page, we are comparing the Olympus E-520 and Olympus VG-160, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both sold by Olympus. There is a noticeable difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and VG-160 (14MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and VG-160 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor size.

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The E-520 was introduced 4 years before the VG-160 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus VG-160 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a detailed comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the E-520 grades against the VG-160 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-520 & Olympus VG-160. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-520 Gallery & Olympus VG-160 Gallery.

If you're intending to carry your camera frequently, you're going to have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 has got external 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) whilst the Olympus VG-160 has measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") with a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-520 and Olympus VG-160 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are employing at the time. The following is a front view proportions comparison of the E-520 against the VG-160.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-520 and VG-160 is 68 and 96 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to envision the contrast in sensor sizing only by researching specs. The visual underneath will help offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and VG-160.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-520 with its larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus VG-160 will render greater detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images a bit more aggressively. The older E-520 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.