Olympus E-520 vs Panasonic TS20

Following is a extended review of the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic TS20, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Waterproof by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizeable gap between the resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and TS20 (16MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and TS20 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-520 was introduced 4 years before the TS20 which is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Panasonic TS20 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a more detailed comparison, below is a concise summation of how the E-520 scores vs the TS20 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-520 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS20. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-520 Gallery and Panasonic TS20 Gallery.

If you are planning to carry around your camera regularly, you'll have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-520 enjoys external 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) whilst the Panasonic TS20 has proportions of 101mm x 58mm x 19mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 0.7") along with a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-520 and Panasonic TS20 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are using at that moment. The following is the front view scale comparison of the E-520 and the TS20.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-520 and TS20 is 68 and 95 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to see the contrast between sensor sizes simply by going over a spec sheet. The picture here will give you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and TS20.

Clearly, each of the cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-520 using its larger sensor will make getting shallower DOF less difficult and the Panasonic TS20 will offer you more detail using its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will let you crop images much more aggressively. The more aged E-520 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.