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Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV

Portability
68
Imaging
45
Features
45
Overall
45
Olympus E-520 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV front
Portability
52
Imaging
53
Features
82
Overall
64

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV 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
  • Revealed August 2008
  • Old Model is Olympus E-510
Sony RX10 IV
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Boost to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-600mm (F2.4-4.0) lens
  • 1095g - 133 x 94 x 145mm
  • Launched September 2017
  • Succeeded the Sony RX10 III
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Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV Overview

Let's examine more closely at the Olympus E-520 and Sony RX10 IV, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference between the image resolutions of the E-520 (10MP) and RX10 IV (20MP) and the E-520 (Four Thirds) and RX10 IV (1") use different sensor size.

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The E-520 was announced 10 years prior to the RX10 IV and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-520 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX10 IV being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before delving through a full comparison, below is a quick view of how the E-520 matches up vs the RX10 IV in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-520 over the Sony RX10 IV

 E-520 RX10 IV 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 IV over the Olympus E-520

 RX10 IV E-520 
LaunchedSeptember 2017August 2008More recent by 110 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display sizing3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution1440k230kCrisper display (+1210k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-520 and Sony RX10 IV

 E-520 RX10 IV 
Manual focus Very precise focus
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV Physical Comparison

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-520 enjoys outer dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") with a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) while the Sony RX10 IV has proportions of 133mm x 94mm x 145mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.7") with a weight of 1095 grams (2.41 lbs).

See the Olympus E-520 and Sony RX10 IV in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you select during that time. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-520 compared to the RX10 IV.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the E-520 and RX10 IV is 68 and 52 respectively.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV Sensor Comparison

Often, it's hard to imagine the gap between sensor measurements simply by reviewing a spec sheet. The photograph here will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-520 and RX10 IV.

As you can see, the two cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-520 with its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony RX10 IV will offer you extra detail with its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images a little more aggressively. The older E-520 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV sensor size comparison

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-520
Portrait photography with Sony RX10 IV
59
you can focus manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detection autofocus
delivers RAW formats
low megapixels (10 megapixels)
71
manual focus
flash sync speed is above average (1/2,000s)
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is nice (1")
offers face detection focusing
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-520 Street photography information
Sony RX10 IV Street photography information
65
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
fixed screen
64
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is nice (1")
saves RAW files
has touch to focus
environment proof
more heavy than competition (1,095g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-520 Sports photography information
Sony RX10 IV Sports photography information
55
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
better than average battery life (650 per charge)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
max frames per second very slow (4.0 fps)
low megapixels (10MP)
76
excellent zoom range (24-600mm 25.0 x zoom)
silent mode (1/32,000s)
high fps (24.0 frames per second)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is nice (1")
offers tracking autofocus
environment proof
has phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-520 Travel photography features
Sony RX10 IV Travel photography features
52
better than average battery life (650 shots)
has built in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse function
low megapixels (10MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
56
environment proof
has bluetooth
has touch to focus
decent megapixels (20MP)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (24mm)
long zoom (600mm)
no Timelapse recording
more heavy than competition (1,095g)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
slow maximum aperture (f2.4)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-520
Landscape photography with Sony RX10 IV
58
you can focus manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
better than average battery life (650 per charge)
screen is small (2.7 inch)
low megapixels (10 megapixels)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
62
manual focus
reasonably wide (24mm)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is nice (1")
saves RAW files
environment proof
cannot switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.4)
no Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-520 Vlogging highlights
Sony RX10 IV Vlogging highlights
9
no video shooting
29
reasonably wide (24mm)
touchscreen functionality
has image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detection focusing
video res high (3840 x 2160 pixels)
has external microphone jack
slow maximum aperture (f2.4)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
more heavy than competition (1,095 grams)
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Olympus E-520 vs Sony RX10 IV Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-520 and Sony RX10 IV
 Olympus E-520Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV
General Information
Brand Olympus Sony
Model Olympus E-520 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV
Class Entry-Level DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2008-08-20 2017-09-12
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 area 224.9mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 3648 x 2736 5472 x 3648
Maximum native ISO 1600 12800
Maximum boosted ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 100 125
RAW files
Minimum boosted ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 3 315
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-600mm (25.0x)
Largest aperture - f/2.4-4.0
Macro focus distance - 3cm
Number of lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 2.7
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 2.7 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 1,440 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Maximum silent shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 4.0fps 24.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 10.80 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Maximum video resolution None 3840x2160
Video data format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone input
Headphone input
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
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 552 grams (1.22 lb) 1095 grams (2.41 lb)
Dimensions 136 x 92 x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") 133 x 94 x 145mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.4 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 548 not tested
Other
Battery life 650 photos 400 photos
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse feature
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
Launch cost $400 $1,698