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Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80

Portability
68
Imaging
45
Features
45
Overall
45
Olympus E-520 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80 front
Portability
86
Imaging
47
Features
70
Overall
56

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 Key Specs

Olympus E-520
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 552g - 136 x 92 x 68mm
  • Released August 2008
  • Replaced the Olympus E-510
Panasonic ZS80
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200 (Increase to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
  • 327g - 112 x 69 x 42mm
  • Revealed February 2018
  • Other Name is Lumix DC-TZ95
  • Older Model is Panasonic ZS70
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Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 Overview

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-520 versus Panasonic ZS80, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a crucial gap among the image resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and ZS80 (20MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and ZS80 (1/2.3") use different sensor size.

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The E-520 was announced 10 years before the ZS80 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS80 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick view of how the E-520 scores versus the ZS80 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-520 over the Panasonic ZS80

 E-520 ZS80 

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS80 over the Olympus E-520

 ZS80 E-520 
RevealedFebruary 2018August 2008Fresher by 115 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution1040k230kCrisper screen (+810k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic ZS80

 E-520 ZS80 
Focus manually Dial accurate focus

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is looking to carry your camera frequently, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 has got outside dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") having a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS80 has measurements of 112mm x 69mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7") having a weight of 327 grams (0.72 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-520 versus Panasonic ZS80 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are using at the time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the E-520 and the ZS80.

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-520 and ZS80 is 68 and 86 respectively.

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it's hard to picture the gap in sensor sizing just by checking out a spec sheet. The photograph here may offer you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-520 and ZS80.

As you can see, both of those cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-520 having a bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Panasonic ZS80 will show greater detail with its extra 10MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The older E-520 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-520
Portrait photography with Panasonic ZS80
59
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detection autofocus
saves RAW formats
resolution not great (10MP)
54
you can focus manually
good resolution (20MP)
provides face detection focus
saves RAW files
can't use external flash
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-520
Street photography with Panasonic ZS80
65
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
screen is fixed
75
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
saves RAW files
has touch focus
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-520
Sports photography with Panasonic ZS80
55
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
great battery (650 CIPA)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (4.0 fps)
resolution not great (10 megapixels)
61
great zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
quiet shooting (1/16,000s)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (20 megapixels)
provides tracking autofocus
better than average battery (380 per charge)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-520 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic ZS80 as a Travel photography camera
52
great battery (650 CIPA)
has built in flash
lack of Time Lapse recording
resolution not great (10MP)
display is not selfie friendly
79
better than average battery (380 shots)
has bluetooth
has touch focus
good resolution (20 megapixels)
has built in flash
screen is selfie friendly
decently wide (24mm)
very long zoom (720mm)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-520 as a Landscape photography camera
Panasonic ZS80 as a Landscape photography camera
58
focusing manually
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
great battery (650 per charge)
screen is somewhat small (2.7 inches)
resolution not great (10 megapixels)
lack of Time Lapse recording
62
you can focus manually
decently wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (20MP)
saves RAW files
better than average battery (380 CIPA)
cannot switch lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-520 as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic ZS80 as a Vlogging camera
9
no video recording
73
decently wide (24mm)
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen enabled
built in image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detection focus
video res high (3840 x 2160 pxls)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
no external mic port
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Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic ZS80 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-520 and Panasonic ZS80
 Olympus E-520Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80
General Information
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus E-520 Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80
Also called - Lumix DC-TZ95
Class Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Released 2008-08-20 2018-02-18
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Chip - Venus Engine
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3648 x 2736 5184 x 3888
Highest native ISO 1600 3200
Highest boosted ISO - 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-720mm (30.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.3-6.4
Macro focus range - 3cm
Amount of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 2.7" 3"
Display resolution 230 thousand dot 1,040 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,330 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x 0.53x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Maximum quiet shutter speed - 1/16000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 4.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 5.60 m (with Auto ISO)
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 (30p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Highest video resolution None 3840x2160
Video data format - MPEG-4, H.264
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
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 lbs) 327 grams (0.72 lbs)
Dimensions 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") 112 x 69 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7")
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 photographs 380 photographs
Battery form 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/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I supported)
Storage slots Single Single
Price at launch $400 $448