As well as being compared against other ultra compacts and travel zooms, the Canon ELPH 520 HS is also often compared to mirrorless, pro digicams, compacts and digicams. The Canon ELPH 520 HS's top rivals come from Canon (such as the PowerShot SD200 and the ELPH 100 HS) and Nikon (such as the Coolpix S9300 and the 1 S1)
Generally, some of the advantages of the Canon ELPH 520 HS compared to other ultra compact competitors include: it has a much wider wide angle lens (28 mm vs 33 mm), has a much larger screen (3" vs 2"), has a slightly higher resolution screen (461k dots vs 230k dots), has better image stabilization (lens vs none) and takes slightly higher resolution photos (9.7 MP vs 5 MP).
However, on average it doesn't have a touch screen and doesn't have a viewfinder (none vs tunnel).
Generally, some of the advantages of the Canon ELPH 520 HS compared to other travel zoom competitors include: it has a built-in flash, is much smaller (ultra compact (87×54×19 mm) vs compact (109×62×31 mm)), has better image stabilization (lens vs sensor shift), has a CMOS-family sensor (CMOS vs CCD) and is thinner (0.7" vs 1.2").
However, on average it has a significantly narrower wide angle lens (28 mm vs 25 mm), doesn't have a built-in GPS, doesn't shoot as fast continuously (2.8 fps vs 6.9 fps), has a slightly shorter battery life (190 shots vs 300 shots) and is older (january 2012 vs january 2014).
Generally, some of the advantages of the Canon ELPH 520 HS compared to mirrorless interchangeable-lens competitors include: it has image stabilization (lens vs none), records movies in 24p, is thinner (0.7" vs 1.3"), is slightly lighter (155 g vs 298 g) and has a built-in flash.
However, on average it records higher quality movies (1080p @ 24fps vs 1080p @ 60fps), has a significantly lower resolution screen (461k dots vs 1,040k dots), records less high-speed movies (240 fps vs 1,200 fps), takes slightly lower resolution photos (9.7 MP vs 17.9 MP) and doesn't have a touch screen.
Generally, some of the advantages of the Canon ELPH 520 HS compared to pro digicam competitors include: it is much smaller (ultra compact (87×54×19 mm) vs compact (102×58×36 mm)), is newer (january 2012 vs may 2010), is thinner (0.7" vs 1.4"), is slightly lighter (155 g vs 198 g) and is slightly less expensive ($237.88 vs $439.00).
However, on average it has a marginally smaller sensor (1/2.3" 6.17x4.55mm vs 1" 13.2x8.8mm), has a significantly narrower aperture (f/3.4 vs f/1.8), has a slightly narrower wide angle lens (28 mm vs 24 mm), takes slightly lower resolution photos (9.7 MP vs 20 MP) and significantly lower maximum light sensitivity (3,200 ISO vs 12,800 ISO).
Generally, some of the advantages of the Canon ELPH 520 HS compared to compact competitors include: it has a slightly larger screen (3" vs 2.7"), is significantly smaller (ultra compact (87×54×19 mm) vs super compact (91×56×22 mm)), has better image stabilization (lens vs none), has a CMOS-family sensor (CMOS vs CCD) and has a slightly longer battery life (190 shots vs 170 shots).
However, on average it has a slightly narrower aperture (f/3.4 vs f/2.7) and slightly shorter exposures (15 seconds vs 60 seconds).
Generally, some of the advantages of the Canon ELPH 520 HS compared to digicam competitors include: it has a much wider wide angle lens (28 mm vs 42 mm), has a much larger screen (3" vs 1.8"), has a slightly higher resolution screen (461k dots vs 230k dots), has better image stabilization (lens vs none) and takes slightly higher resolution photos (9.7 MP vs 0.3 MP).
