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Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N

Portability
68
Imaging
45
Features
45
Overall
45
Olympus E-520 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-3N front
Portability
89
Imaging
57
Features
52
Overall
55

Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N Key Specs

Olympus E-520
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 552g - 136 x 92 x 68mm
  • Released August 2008
  • Replaced the Olympus E-510
Sony NEX-3N
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 16000
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 269g - 110 x 62 x 35mm
  • Introduced February 2013
  • Succeeded the Sony NEX-F3
  • Successor is Sony a5000
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Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N Overview

Here is a extensive comparison of the Olympus E-520 versus Sony NEX-3N, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and NEX-3N (16MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and NEX-3N (APS-C) posses different sensor sizes.

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The E-520 was announced 5 years before the NEX-3N and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-3N being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting into a thorough comparison, here is a short view of how the E-520 grades against the NEX-3N in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-520 over the Sony NEX-3N

 E-520 NEX-3N 

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-3N over the Olympus E-520

 NEX-3N E-520 
IntroducedFebruary 2013August 2008Fresher by 55 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display dimensions3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution460k230kClearer display (+230k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-520 and Sony NEX-3N

 E-520 NEX-3N 
Focus manually Very precise focus
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither has Touch friendly display

Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N Physical Comparison

If you are looking to carry your camera frequently, you'll need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 has exterior dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-3N has measurements of 110mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-520 versus Sony NEX-3N in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are working with during that time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the E-520 versus the NEX-3N.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-520 and NEX-3N is 68 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is very difficult to imagine the contrast in sensor sizing purely by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic below will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-520 and NEX-3N.

As you can see, each of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-520 having a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony NEX-3N will provide you with greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older E-520 will be behind in sensor technology.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N sensor size comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-520 Portrait photography factors
Sony NEX-3N Portrait photography factors
59
has manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports face detection focus
delivers RAW formats
MP count low (10 megapixels)
66
you can focus manually
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
can't use external flash
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-520 Street photography highlights
Sony NEX-3N Street photography highlights
65
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
no moving screen
77
screen tilts
nice sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
does not have image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-520 as a Sports photography camera
Sony NEX-3N as a Sports photography camera
55
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
great battery life (650 CIPA)
comes with phase detect auto focus
continuous shooting slow (4.0 frames per second)
MP count low (10 megapixels)
53
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
better than average battery power (480 per charge)
continuous shooting slow (4.0 fps)
does not have image stabilization
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-520
Travel photography with Sony NEX-3N
52
great battery life (650 shots)
flash built-in
doesn't have Timelapse function
MP count low (10MP)
display is not selfie friendly
71
better than average battery power (480 shots)
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
no Time Lapse function
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-520
Landscape photography with Sony NEX-3N
58
has manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
great battery life (650 CIPA)
screen is somewhat small (2.7")
MP count low (10MP)
doesn't have Timelapse function
70
you can focus manually
change lenses (Sony E mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
MP count decent (16MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
better than average battery power (480 CIPA)
does not have image stabilization
no Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-520
Vlogging with Sony NEX-3N
9
can't shoot video
28
great video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
does not have image stabilization
no mic socket
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Olympus E-520 vs Sony NEX-3N Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-520 and Sony NEX-3N
 Olympus E-520Sony Alpha NEX-3N
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-520 Sony Alpha NEX-3N
Class Entry-Level DSLR Entry-Level Mirrorless
Released 2008-08-20 2013-02-25
Physical type Compact SLR Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 3648 x 2736 4912 x 3264
Max native ISO 1600 16000
Lowest native ISO 100 200
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 3 25
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Sony E
Total lenses 45 121
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 2.7" 3"
Resolution of screen 230k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 4.0 frames/s 4.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) -
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye -
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180 secs 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic port
Headphone port
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 sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 552 grams (1.22 pounds) 269 grams (0.59 pounds)
Physical dimensions 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") 110 x 62 x 35mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 74
DXO Color Depth score 21.4 22.8
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 12.5
DXO Low light score 548 1067
Other
Battery life 650 photos 480 photos
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) -
Time lapse feature
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots One One
Launch cost $400 $399