Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15
68 Imaging
44 Features
45 Overall
44
95 Imaging
34 Features
17 Overall
27
Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15 Key Specs
(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
- Older Model is Olympus E-510
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 2.7" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 1600 (Increase to 6400)
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 640 x 480 video
- 29-145mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
- 136g - 97 x 54 x 22mm
- Introduced January 2009
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Below is a detailed overview of the Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Ultracompact by brands Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the E-520 (10MP) and the FS15 (12MP) is pretty close but the E-520 (Four Thirds) and FS15 (1/2.3") offer different sensor sizes.
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music videoThe E-520 was manufactured 4 months earlier than the FS15 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic FS15 being a Ultracompact camera.
Before getting into a in depth comparison, here is a simple overview of how the E-520 scores versus the FS15 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.
Photography Glossary Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15 Gallery
Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-520 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-520 Gallery & Panasonic FS15 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-520 over the Panasonic FS15
| E-520 | FS15 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual focus | Very accurate focusing |
Reasons to pick Panasonic FS15 over the Olympus E-520
| FS15 | E-520 |
|---|
Common features in the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic FS15
| E-520 | FS15 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | August 2008 | January 2009 | Same age | |
| Screen type | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed screen | |
| Screen dimensions | 2.7" | 2.7" | Equal screen dimensions | |
| Screen resolution | 230k | 230k | Same screen resolution | |
| Selfie screen | No selfie screen | |||
| Touch friendly screen | Neither comes with Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15 Physical Comparison
When you are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 comes with 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 Panasonic FS15 has measurements of 97mm x 54mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.1" x 0.9") having a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs).
Compare the Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you use during that time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the E-520 against the FS15.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-520 and FS15 is 68 and 95 respectively.
Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15 Sensor Comparison
Quite often, its difficult to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements only by looking through specs. The photograph below should give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and FS15.
As you can plainly see, the two cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-520 due to its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Panasonic FS15 will render greater detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots more aggressively.
Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15 Screen and ViewFinder
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Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic FS15 Specifications
| Olympus E-520 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Brand Name | Olympus | Panasonic |
| Model type | Olympus E-520 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 |
| Class | Entry-Level DSLR | Ultracompact |
| Released | 2008-08-20 | 2009-01-16 |
| Body design | Compact SLR | Ultracompact |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Sensor type | CMOS | CCD |
| Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
| Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.08 x 4.56mm |
| Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 27.7mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 10 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Anti alias filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 |
| Highest resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Highest native ISO | 1600 | 1600 |
| Highest boosted ISO | - | 6400 |
| Minimum native ISO | 100 | 80 |
| RAW images | ||
| Autofocusing | ||
| Focus manually | ||
| AF touch | ||
| AF continuous | ||
| Single AF | ||
| AF tracking | ||
| AF selectice | ||
| AF center weighted | ||
| Multi area AF | ||
| Live view AF | ||
| Face detect focusing | ||
| Contract detect focusing | ||
| Phase detect focusing | ||
| Total focus points | 3 | 11 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens support | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
| Lens zoom range | - | 29-145mm (5.0x) |
| Max aperture | - | f/3.3-5.9 |
| Macro focusing range | - | 5cm |
| Total lenses | 45 | - |
| Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 5.9 |
| Screen | ||
| Range of display | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
| Display diagonal | 2.7 inch | 2.7 inch |
| Resolution of display | 230 thousand dot | 230 thousand dot |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch display | ||
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder type | Optical (pentamirror) | None |
| Viewfinder coverage | 95% | - |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.46x | - |
| Features | ||
| Lowest shutter speed | 60 seconds | 60 seconds |
| Highest shutter speed | 1/4000 seconds | 1/2000 seconds |
| Continuous shooting speed | 4.0 frames/s | 2.0 frames/s |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Manually set exposure | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
| Change WB | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Inbuilt flash | ||
| Flash distance | 12.00 m (at ISO 100) | - |
| Flash options | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, Auto Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off |
| Hot shoe | ||
| AEB | ||
| WB bracketing | ||
| Highest flash sync | 1/180 seconds | - |
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment metering | ||
| Average metering | ||
| Spot metering | ||
| Partial metering | ||
| AF area metering | ||
| Center weighted metering | ||
| Video features | ||
| Video resolutions | - | 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) |
| Highest video resolution | None | 640x480 |
| Video file format | - | Motion JPEG |
| Microphone jack | ||
| Headphone jack | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | None | None |
| Bluetooth | ||
| NFC | ||
| HDMI | ||
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| GPS | None | None |
| Physical | ||
| Environmental seal | ||
| Water proofing | ||
| Dust proofing | ||
| Shock proofing | ||
| Crush proofing | ||
| Freeze proofing | ||
| Weight | 552g (1.22 lbs) | 136g (0.30 lbs) |
| Physical dimensions | 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") | 97 x 54 x 22mm (3.8" x 2.1" x 0.9") |
| 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 photographs | - |
| Battery form | Battery Pack | - |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
| Time lapse recording | ||
| Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/MMC/SDHC card, Internal |
| Storage slots | One | One |
| Cost at launch | $400 | $180 |