Olympus OM-D E-M1X vs Olympus E-520

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Olympus OM-D E-M1X and the Olympus E-520, 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 OM-D E-M1X was introduced in January 2019 and Olympus E-520 was introduced in August 2008. 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 OM-D E-M1X over Olympus E-520.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus E-520 over Olympus OM-D E-M1X.

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 OM-D E-M1X has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,037k dot resolution and Olympus E-520 has a 2.7" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Olympus OM-D E-M1X selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Olympus OM-D E-M1X also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Olympus OM-D E-M1X has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution and Olympus E-520 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. Olympus OM-D E-M1X has 100% coverage with 1.65x (0.83x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Olympus E-520 has 95% coverage with 0.92x (0.46x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X features a 20.4 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.4 x 13 mm and a total area of 226.2 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600 and expands to 64 - 25,600 in boosted mode. Olympus E-520 features a 10.0 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Olympus OM-D E-M1X is equipped with Dual TruePic VIII processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution. Olympus E-520 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.

Lens Mount

Olympus OM-D E-M1X has Micro Four Thirds lens mount and Olympus E-520 has Four Thirds lens mount. Due to their Micro Four Thirds sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 2x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (7 stops of compensation in Olympus OM-D E-M1X). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in GPS on Olympus OM-D E-M1X

Olympus OM-D E-M1X has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Olympus OM-D E-M1X

Olympus OM-D E-M1X has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Olympus OM-D E-M1X

Olympus OM-D E-M1X has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus OM-D E-M1X comes with BLH-1 battery pack with battery life of 870 shots.

External Storage Slots

Olympus OM-D E-M1X has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots. Olympus E-520 has a single Compact Flash (Type I/II), xD Picture Card card slot.

Shutter

Olympus OM-D E-M1X has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Olympus OM-D E-M1X, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus E-520. Olympus OM-D E-M1X can shoot continuously up to 60.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 15.0 fps with mechanical shutter. Olympus E-520 can shoot continuously up to 3.5 fps.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Olympus OM-D E-M1X ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Olympus OM-D E-M1X and ±5 EV range on Olympus E-520. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus OM-D E-M1X and and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus E-520.

Flash

Olympus E-520 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Olympus OM-D E-M1X has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Olympus OM-D E-M1X and 1/180 sec on Olympus E-520.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X body has dimensions of 144 x 147 x 75 mm (5.67 x 5.79 x 2.95") and Olympus E-520 body has dimensions of 136 x 92 x 68 mm (5.35 x 3.62 x 2.68"). Olympus OM-D E-M1X weighs 997 g (2.20 lb / 35.17 oz) and Olympus E-520 weighs 552 g (1.22 lb / 19.47 oz).

Olympus OM-D E-M1X

Olympus E-520

144 mm

147 mm

136 mm

92 mm

147 mm

92 mm

75 mm

68 mm