Olympus E-PM1 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features TruePic VI processor. On the other hand, Olympus E-520 has a
10.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Below you can see the E-PM1 and E-520 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus E-PM1 and Olympus E-520 Cameras
Olympus E-PM1 and Olympus E-520 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 22% larger pixel area (22.54µm 2 vs 18.45µm 2 ) compared to Olympus E-PM1, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to 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-PM1 and Olympus E-520 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that E-520 has a better overall score of 55, 3 points higher compared to E-PM1's score of 52.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Olympus E-PM1
52
21.0 bits
10.3 Evs
499 ISO
Olympus E-520
55
21.4 bits
10.4 Evs
548 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Olympus E-PM1
or the
Olympus E-520 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
