Olympus E-520 vs Olympus XZ-2 iHS

Lets look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-520 versus Olympus XZ-2 iHS, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are built by Olympus. The resolution of the E-520 (10MP) and the XZ-2 iHS (12MP) is relatively similar but the E-520 (Four Thirds) and XZ-2 iHS (1/1.7") have totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-520 was announced 5 years prior to the XZ-2 iHS and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus XZ-2 iHS being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a in depth comparison, here is a concise summation of how the E-520 grades versus the XZ-2 iHS with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-520 & Olympus XZ-2 iHS. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-520 Gallery & Olympus XZ-2 iHS Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera often, you have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 has outer dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") and a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) and the Olympus XZ-2 iHS has measurements of 113mm x 65mm x 48mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.9") having a weight of 346 grams (0.76 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-520 versus Olympus XZ-2 iHS in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select at the time. Here is a front view over all size comparison of the E-520 and the XZ-2 iHS.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the E-520 and XZ-2 iHS is 68 and 85 respectively.

In many cases, it is very tough to see the contrast between sensor measurements purely by going over specs. The visual here might offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and XZ-2 iHS.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-520 using its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus XZ-2 iHS will deliver extra detail with its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older E-520 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.