Olympus XZ-1 vs Canon PowerShot SX520 HS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Olympus XZ-1 and the Canon PowerShot SX520 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 XZ-1 was introduced in January 2011 and Canon PowerShot SX520 HS was introduced in July 2014. 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 XZ-1 over Canon PowerShot SX520 HS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon PowerShot SX520 HS over Olympus XZ-1.

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 XZ-1 and Canon PowerShot SX520 HS have 3.0" Fixed screens with 614k dot and 461k dot resolutions respectively.

Camera does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached on Olympus XZ-1.

Olympus XZ-1 features a 10 megapixel 1/1.63-inch CCD sensor with dimensions of 8.07 x 5.56 mm and a total area of 44.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400. Canon PowerShot SX520 HS features a 16 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 PowerShot SX520 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 XZ-1 is equipped with TruePic V processor and can take pictures up to 3664 x 2752 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3648 x 2736, 3648 x 2056, 3648 x 2432, 3200 x 2400, 3200 x 1800, 3216 x 2144, 2736 x 2736, 2400 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 2560 x 1440, 2544 x 1696, 1920 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1536 x 864, 1584 x 1056, 1296 x 864, 1280 x 960, 1280 x 720, 1216 x 1216, 1024 x 768, 1024 x 576, 1008 x 672, 960 x 960, 768 x 768, 640 x 480, 640 x 360, 624 x 416, 480 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Canon PowerShot SX520 HS is equipped with DIGIC 4+ processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in [y] image stabilization.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Olympus XZ-1 has a Type D Mini HDMI and Canon PowerShot SX520 HS has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus XZ-1 comes with Li-50B battery pack with battery life of 320 shots and Canon PowerShot SX520 HS comes with NB-6LH battery pack with battery life of 210 shots.

External Storage Slots

Cameras have a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/2000 sec on Olympus XZ-1, and up to 1/2000 sec on Canon PowerShot SX520 HS. Olympus XZ-1 can shoot continuously up to 2.0 fps. Canon PowerShot SX520 HS can shoot continuously up to 1.6 fps.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 8.60 m ISO 800 on Olympus XZ-1 and 5.50 m on Canon PowerShot SX520 HS. Olympus XZ-1 also accepts external flash which can be connected via Wireless connection..

Olympus XZ-1 body has dimensions of 111 x 65 x 42 mm (4.37 x 2.56 x 1.65") and Canon PowerShot SX520 HS body has dimensions of 120 x 82 x 92 mm (4.72 x 3.23 x 3.62"). Olympus XZ-1 weighs 275 g (0.61 lb / 9.70 oz) and Canon PowerShot SX520 HS weighs 441 g (0.97 lb / 15.56 oz).

Olympus XZ-1

Canon PowerShot SX520 HS

111 mm

65 mm

120 mm

82 mm