Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FH7

Below is a in-depth overview of the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic FH7, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and FH7 (16MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and FH7 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-520 was manufactured 4 years earlier than the FH7 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic FH7 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a brief overview of how the E-520 matches up versus the FH7 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-520 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH7. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-520 Gallery & Panasonic FH7 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 comes with outside measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) while the Panasonic FH7 has measurements of 95mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 126 grams (0.28 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic FH7 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at that time. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the E-520 compared to the FH7.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-520 and FH7 is 68 and 96 respectively.

More often than not, it is difficult to envision the gap between sensor measurements only by looking at specifications. The graphic underneath might give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-520 and FH7.

To sum up, both of those cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-520 due to its bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic FH7 will resolve more detail due to its extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots way more aggressively. The older E-520 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.