Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FH8

Following is a detailed assessment of the Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FH8, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and FH8 (16MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and FH8 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-520 was revealed 4 years before the FH8 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic FH8 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick overview of how the E-520 grades against the FH8 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-520 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-520 Gallery & Panasonic FH8 Gallery.

If you are looking to carry around your camera often, you'll need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-520 provides external measurements of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") having a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FH8 has proportions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 123 grams (0.27 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FH8 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have attached at that moment. Following is a front view scale comparison of the E-520 vs the FH8.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-520 and FH8 is 68 and 96 respectively.

Normally, it is hard to picture the difference in sensor sizes just by researching specs. The image below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-520 and FH8.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-520 having a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic FH8 will render greater detail because of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-520 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.