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Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10

Portability
68
Imaging
45
Features
45
Overall
45
Olympus E-520 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 front
Portability
58
Imaging
51
Features
76
Overall
61

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 Key Specs

Olympus E-520
(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
  • Revealed August 2008
  • Previous Model is Olympus E-510
Sony RX10
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Bump to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Introduced March 2014
  • New Model is Sony RX10 II
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Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 Overview

Following is a in depth review of the Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and RX10 (20MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and RX10 (1") enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-520 was launched 6 years before the RX10 which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX10 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting through a step-by-step comparison, below is a simple overview of how the E-520 matches up against the RX10 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-520 over the Sony RX10

 E-520 RX10 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 over the Olympus E-520

 RX10 E-520 
IntroducedMarch 2014August 2008More modern by 67 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen sizing3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution1290k230kCrisper screen (+1060k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-520 and Sony RX10

 E-520 RX10 
Focus manually More exact focusing
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither provides Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 Physical Comparison

If you are planning to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-520 provides 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) whilst the Sony RX10 has measurements of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") with a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are utilising at that time. Underneath is the front view proportions comparison of the E-520 compared to the RX10.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-520 and RX10 is 68 and 58 respectively.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it is difficult to see the contrast between sensor sizes only by reading through specs. The image below will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and RX10.

All in all, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-520 because of its bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony RX10 will give you more detail utilizing its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more aged E-520 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-520 Portrait photography factors
Sony RX10 Portrait photography factors
59
you can focus manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
70
manual focus
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
has face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-520 Street photography details
Sony RX10 Street photography details
65
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
screen does not articulate
72
screen tilts
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is good (1")
exports RAW files
weather proofing
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-520
Sports photography with Sony RX10
55
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
good battery power (650 CIPA)
supports phase detect autofocus
max frames per second very slow (4.0 fps)
sensor resolution low (10MP)
67
has image stabilization (Optical)
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
weather proofing
better than average battery power (420 CIPA)
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-520 Travel photography advice
Sony RX10 Travel photography advice
52
good battery power (650 CIPA)
flash built-in
doesn't have Timelapse recording
sensor resolution low (10MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
58
better than average battery power (420 CIPA)
weather proofing
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
decently wide (24mm)
missing Timelapse recording
display isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-520 Landscape photography advice
Sony RX10 Landscape photography advice
58
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
good battery power (650 per charge)
screen is somewhat small (2.7")
sensor resolution low (10MP)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
63
manual focus
decently wide (24mm)
good sized screen (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
exports RAW files
weather proofing
better than average battery power (420 per charge)
cannot switch lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
missing Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-520 Vlogging details
Sony RX10 Vlogging details
9
can't shoot video
30
decently wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
has face detection autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
comes with external microphone port
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-520 and Sony RX10
 Olympus E-520Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-520 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
Class Entry-Level DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2008-08-20 2014-03-20
Body design Compact SLR SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Powered by - Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 3648 x 2736 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 1600 12800
Max boosted ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 100 125
RAW photos
Lowest boosted ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 3 25
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-200mm (8.3x)
Max aperture - f/2.8
Number of lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 2.7
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display sizing 2.7 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 230k dot 1,290k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display tech - WhiteMagic
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440k dot
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x 0.7x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/3200 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 4.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 10.20 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance 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 - 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 552g (1.22 lbs) 813g (1.79 lbs)
Dimensions 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 69
DXO Color Depth score 21.4 22.9
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 12.6
DXO Low light score 548 474
Other
Battery life 650 photographs 420 photographs
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Price at launch $400 $698