Olympus E-520 vs Sony A390

On this page, we will be matching up the Olympus E-520 and Sony A390, both Entry-Level DSLR cameras by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap among the image resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and A390 (14MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and A390 (APS-C) posses different sensor size.

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The E-520 was released 23 months prior to the A390 which makes them a generation away from one another. The two cameras have the same body design (Compact SLR).

Before getting straight to a thorough comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-520 grades versus the A390 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-520 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A390. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-520 Gallery & Sony A390 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to travel with your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-520 features exterior dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") along with a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) while the Sony A390 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") having a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

See the Olympus E-520 and Sony A390 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-520 versus the A390.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-520 and A390 is 68 and 66 respectively.

Normally, it's difficult to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions simply by going through specs. The picture below will help offer you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and A390.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-520 because of its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF tougher and the Sony A390 will provide extra detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will help you crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged E-520 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.