Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic GF6

Here is a extensive analysis of the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic GF6, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizeable gap between the image resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and GF6 (16MP) but they feature the exact same sensor dimensions (Four Thirds).

Photography Glossary

The E-520 was announced 5 years earlier than the GF6 and that is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic GF6 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a short summary of how the E-520 scores vs the GF6 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-520 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-520 Gallery and Panasonic GF6 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to carry your camera often, you're going to have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 provides exterior 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) and the Panasonic GF6 has measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.5") and a weight of 323 grams (0.71 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic GF6 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you have attached at the time. Here is the front view measurements comparison of the E-520 versus the GF6.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-520 and GF6 is 68 and 87 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very hard to imagine the contrast between sensor sizing simply by checking technical specs. The photograph here will help provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and GF6.

As you have seen, each of these cameras have got the exact same sensor measurements albeit different MP. You should expect the Panasonic GF6 to give you more detail with its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs much more aggressively. The older E-520 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.