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Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8

Portability
94
Imaging
36
Features
40
Overall
37
Canon ELPH 500 HS front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ8 front
Portability
94
Imaging
40
Features
31
Overall
36

Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 Key Specs

Canon ELPH 500 HS
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-105mm (F2.0-5.8) lens
  • 185g - 101 x 56 x 25mm
  • Released February 2011
  • Alternative Name is IXUS 310 HS / IXY 31S
Panasonic SZ8
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600 (Bump to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-288mm (F3.1-6.3) lens
  • 159g - 100 x 60 x 27mm
  • Introduced January 2014
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Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 Overview

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").

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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.

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Reasons to pick Canon ELPH 500 HS over the Panasonic SZ8

 ELPH 500 HS SZ8 
Display sizing3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution461k460kClearer display (+1k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Panasonic SZ8 over the Canon ELPH 500 HS

 SZ8 ELPH 500 HS 
IntroducedJanuary 2014February 2011Newer by 35 months

Common features in the Canon ELPH 500 HS and Panasonic SZ8

 ELPH 500 HS SZ8 
Manual focus No manual focus
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen

Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 size comparison

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

Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 top view buttons comparison

Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 Sensor Comparison

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.

Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 sensor size comparison

Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 Screen and ViewFinder

Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Canon ELPH 500 HS
Portrait photography with Panasonic SZ8
27
provides face detect autofocus
lack of manual focus
manual mode not available
can't use external flash
low MP (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
35
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
supports face detect autofocus
no manual focus
no manual control
external flash not possible
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Canon ELPH 500 HS
Street photography with Panasonic SZ8
62
has image stabilization (Optical)
includes touch to focus
fixed screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
63
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than average in class (159g)
screen is fixed
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Canon ELPH 500 HS Sports photography information
Panasonic SZ8 Sports photography information
26
has image stabilization (Optical)
slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
low MP (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
bad battery (180 shots)
has no phase detect autofocus
34
has image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (16MP)
low fps (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
bad battery power (200 shots)
no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Canon ELPH 500 HS Travel photography highlights
Panasonic SZ8 Travel photography highlights
64
includes touch to focus
flash built-in
really wide (24mm)
fast maximum aperture (f2.0)
lack of Time Lapse function
bad battery (180 CIPA)
low MP (12 megapixels)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
67
lighter than average in class (159 grams)
good megapixels (16MP)
built-in flash
fairly wide (24mm)
great zoom (288mm)
does not have Timelapse function
bad battery power (200 CIPA)
display isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Canon ELPH 500 HS Landscape photography features
Panasonic SZ8 Landscape photography features
40
really wide (24mm)
fast maximum aperture (f2.0)
nice screen size (3.2")
has image stabilization (Optical)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
manual mode not available
low MP (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
bad battery (180 shots)
lack of Time Lapse function
42
fairly wide (24mm)
pretty good screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
no manual focus
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
no manual control
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
bad battery power (200 per charge)
does not have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Canon ELPH 500 HS as a Vlogging camera
Panasonic SZ8 as a Vlogging camera
37
really wide (24mm)
fast maximum aperture (f2.0)
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detect autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't posses selfie friendly screen
lack of mic socket
32
fairly wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
supports face detect autofocus
lighter than average in class (159g)
slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
display isn't selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have microphone support
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Canon ELPH 500 HS vs Panasonic SZ8 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Canon ELPH 500 HS and Panasonic SZ8
 Canon ELPH 500 HSPanasonic Lumix DMC-SZ8
General Information
Company Canon Panasonic
Model Canon ELPH 500 HS Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ8
Also called IXUS 310 HS / IXY 31S -
Class Small Sensor Compact Small Sensor Superzoom
Released 2011-02-07 2014-01-06
Physical type Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Processor DIGIC 4 with iSAPS technology Venus Engine
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CCD
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4000 x 3000 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 3200 1600
Max boosted ISO - 6400
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points 9 9
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 24-105mm (4.4x) 24-288mm (12.0x)
Highest aperture f/2.0-5.8 f/3.1-6.3
Macro focus range 3cm -
Crop factor 5.8 5.9
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3.2 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 461 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech PureColor II Touch TFT LCD TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 15s 8s
Highest shutter speed 1/1600s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames/s 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 5.00 m 5.20 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (24fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30, 120 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 240 fps) 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p), 320 x 240 (30p)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format H.264 Motion JPEG
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 185g (0.41 lbs) 159g (0.35 lbs)
Dimensions 101 x 56 x 25mm (4.0" x 2.2" x 1.0") 100 x 60 x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 180 photos 200 photos
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model NB-6L -
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, Custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/MMCplus/HC MMCplus SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots Single Single
Retail price $175 $275