Olympus E-510 vs Canon SX220 HS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Olympus E-510 and the Canon SX220 HS, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Olympus E-510 was introduced in November 2007 and Canon SX220 HS was introduced in February 2011. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus E-510 over Canon SX220 HS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon SX220 HS over Olympus E-510.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Olympus E-510 has a 2.5" screen with 230k dot resolution and Canon SX220 HS has a 3.0" screen with 461k dot resolution. Both have Fixed screens.

Optical (pentamirror) Viewfinder on Olympus E-510

Olympus E-510 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. It has a 95% coverage and 0.92x (0.46x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Canon SX220 HS.

Olympus E-510 features a 10.0 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 224.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600. Canon SX220 HS features a 12 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200.

Canon SX220 HS has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Olympus E-510 can take pictures up to 3648 x 2736 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3200 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 4:3 aspect ratios. Canon SX220 HS is equipped with DIGIC 4 with iSAPS technology processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 3000, 4000 x 2248, 4000 x 2664, 2992 x 2992, 2816 x 2112, 2816 x 1880, 2816 x 1584, 2112 x 2112, 1920 x 1080, 1600 x 1200, 1600 x 1064, 1200 x 1200, 640 x 480, 640 x 424, 640 x 360, 480 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization. On Olympus E-510 it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon SX220 HS comes with NB-5L battery pack with battery life of 210 shots.

External Storage Slots

Olympus E-510 has a single Compact Flash (Type I/II), xD Picture Card card slot. Canon SX220 HS has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/ MMCplus/HC MMCplus card slot.

Shutter

Olympus E-510 has Computerized focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus E-510, and up to 1/3200 sec on Canon SX220 HS. Olympus E-510 can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps. Canon SX220 HS can shoot continuously up to 3.2 fps.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Olympus E-510 ranges from +1 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Olympus E-510 and ±2 range on Canon SX220 HS. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus E-510 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon SX220 HS.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Olympus E-510 and 3.50 m on Canon SX220 HS. Olympus E-510 also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Olympus E-510 and 1/2000 sec on Canon SX220 HS.

Olympus E-510 body has dimensions of 136 x 92 x 68 mm (5.35 x 3.62 x 2.68") and Canon SX220 HS body has dimensions of 106 x 59 x 33 mm (4.17 x 2.32 x 1.3"). Olympus E-510 weighs 490 g (1.08 lb / 17.28 oz) and Canon SX220 HS weighs [].

Olympus E-510

Canon SX220 HS

136 mm

92 mm

106 mm

59 mm

92 mm

59 mm