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Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5

Portability
68
Imaging
44
Features
45
Overall
44
Olympus E-520 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 front
Portability
60
Imaging
76
Features
92
Overall
82

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 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
  • Introduced August 2008
  • Older Model is Olympus E-510
Panasonic S5
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3.0" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Raise to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Leica L Mount
  • 714g - 133 x 97 x 82mm
  • Introduced August 2020
  • Refreshed by Panasonic S5 II
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Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 Overview

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic S5, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap among the resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and S5 (24MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and S5 (Full frame) come with different sensor measurements.

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The E-520 was announced 13 years prior to the S5 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic S5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-520 scores vs the S5 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-520 over the Panasonic S5

 E-520 S5 

Reasons to pick Panasonic S5 over the Olympus E-520

 S5 E-520 
IntroducedAugust 2020August 2008Newer by 145 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display sizing3.0"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution1840k230kSharper display (+1610k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic S5

 E-520 S5 
Focus manually Very exact focus

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to travel with your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-520 provides external 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 Panasonic S5 has dimensions of 133mm x 97mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2") along with a weight of 714 grams (1.57 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic S5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you select during that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the E-520 vs the S5.

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-520 and S5 is 68 and 60 respectively.

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it is hard to visualize the gap in sensor dimensions only by researching specs. The image here will offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and S5.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-520 using its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more challenging and the Panasonic S5 will provide you with greater detail with its extra 14 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images a little more aggressively. The more aged E-520 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-520 Portrait photography features
Panasonic S5 Portrait photography features
58
manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides face detect focus
exports RAW formats
megapixel count low (10MP)
85
has manual focus
MP count decent (24MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
provides face detect focus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-520 Street photography info
Panasonic S5 Street photography info
65
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
screen is fixed
78
fully articulated screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
comes with focus by touch
environment sealing
very good ISO range (51,200)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-520 Sports photography advice
Panasonic S5 Sports photography advice
55
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
better than average battery power (650 CIPA)
comes with phase detect auto focus
max fps low (4.0 fps)
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
81
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
silent shooting (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count decent (24MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
provides tracking focus
environment sealing
does not have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-520 Travel photography factors
Panasonic S5 Travel photography factors
52
better than average battery power (650 CIPA)
built-in flash
no Time Lapse mode
megapixel count low (10MP)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
79
environment sealing
supports bluetooth
comes with focus by touch
MP count decent (24 megapixels)
selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-520 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic S5 as a Landscape photography camera
57
manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
better than average battery power (650 per charge)
small screen (2.7")
megapixel count low (10MP)
no Time Lapse mode
86
has manual focus
change lenses (Leica L mount)
screen size is good (3.0 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count decent (24MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
does not have anti-alias filter
very good ISO range (51,200)
exports RAW formats
environment sealing
has double storage slots
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-520 as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic S5 as a Vlogging camera
9
can't shoot video
79
selfie friendly screen
touchscreen capability
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detect focus
high video quality (3840 x 2160 pxls)
does have mic port
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Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic S5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-520 and Panasonic S5
 Olympus E-520Panasonic Lumix DC-S5
General Information
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus E-520 Panasonic Lumix DC-S5
Category Entry-Level DSLR Pro Mirrorless
Introduced 2008-08-20 2020-08-14
Body design Compact SLR SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3648 x 2736 6000 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 1600 51200
Maximum boosted ISO - 204800
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Min boosted ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 3 225
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Leica L
Available lenses 45 31
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen size 2.7" 3.0"
Resolution of screen 230k dot 1,840k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,360k dot
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x 0.74x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 60 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Highest silent shutter speed - 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 4.0 frames/s 7.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 12.00 m (at ISO 100) no built-in flash
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync w/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/180 seconds 1/250 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 @ 60p / 200 Mbps, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Maximum video resolution None 3840x2160
Video file format - MPEG-4, H.264, H.265
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Yes (can be charged with high-power laptop/tablet chargers or portable power banks)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 552 grams (1.22 lbs) 714 grams (1.57 lbs)
Dimensions 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") 133 x 97 x 82mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 55 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.4 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light rating 548 not tested
Other
Battery life 650 photos 440 photos
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card
Storage slots Single 2
Price at launch $400 $1,999