As well as being compared against other pro digicams, the Olympus E-20 is also often compared to entry-level DSLRs and super zooms. The Olympus E-20's top rivals come from Olympus (such as the E-10) and Pentax (such as the K-x)
Generally, some of the advantages of the Olympus E-20 compared to other pro digicam competitors include: it is newer (september 2001 vs august 2000) and much longer exposures (60 seconds vs 2 seconds).
Generally, some of the advantages of the Olympus E-20 compared to entry-level DSLR competitors include: it much longer exposures (60 seconds vs 30 seconds).
However, on average it doesn't record movies (none vs 720p @ 24fps), has a much smaller screen (1.8" vs 2.7"), has a significantly lower resolution screen (118k dots vs 230k dots), doesn't have image stabilization (none vs sensor shift) and takes much lower resolution photos (4.9 MP vs 12.2 MP).
Generally, some of the advantages of the Olympus E-20 compared to super zoom competitors include: it has a significantly wider aperture (f/2 vs f/2.8), has a marginally larger sensor (2/3" 8.8x6.6mm vs 1/2.3" 6.16x4.62mm) and significantly longer exposures (60 seconds vs 15 seconds).
However, on average it has a much narrower wide angle lens (35 mm vs 28 mm), has a much smaller screen (1.8" vs 2.5"), is significantly larger (large (129×161×104 mm) vs prosumer size (128×88×87 mm)), doesn't have image stabilization (none vs lens) and takes slightly lower resolution photos (4.9 MP vs 9.8 MP).