Olympus E-520 has a
10.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Panasonic G5 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine VII FHD processor.
Panasonic G5's sensor provides 6MP more than Olympus E-520's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the E-520 and G5 sensor size comparison.
Olympus E-520 and Panasonic G5 have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Olympus E-520 has 59% larger pixel area compared to Panasonic G5, it has potential to collect more light on pixel level hence have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Olympus E-520 and Panasonic G5 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that G5 has a better overall score of 61, 6 points higher compared to E-520's score of 55.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Olympus E-520 |
55 |
21.4 bits |
10.4 Evs |
548 ISO |
Panasonic G5 |
61 |
21.4 bits |
11.6 Evs |
618 ISO |