Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8

Lets look more closely at the Canon ELPH 500 HS and Panasonic SZ8, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Canon and Panasonic. There is a big difference among the resolutions of the ELPH 500 HS (12MP) and SZ8 (16MP) but they come with the same exact sensor measurements (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The ELPH 500 HS was manufactured 3 years prior to the SZ8 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before going in to a detailed comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the ELPH 500 HS grades vs the SZ8 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Canon ELPH 500 HS and Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ8. The entire galleries are provided at Canon ELPH 500 HS Gallery and Panasonic SZ8 Gallery.

If you're intending to travel with your camera, you are going to need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Canon ELPH 500 HS provides external dimensions of 101mm x 56mm x 25mm (4.0" x 2.2" x 1.0") along with a weight of 185 grams (0.41 lbs) whilst the Panasonic SZ8 has dimensions of 100mm x 60mm x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs).

Look at the Canon ELPH 500 HS and Panasonic SZ8 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Here is the front view size comparison of the ELPH 500 HS compared to the SZ8.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the ELPH 500 HS and SZ8 is 94 and 94 respectively.

In many cases, it is hard to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions only by researching specs. The pic below will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the ELPH 500 HS and SZ8.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing but different resolution. You should expect to see the Panasonic SZ8 to render greater detail due to its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics a little more aggressively. The more aged ELPH 500 HS will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.