Canon SX520 HS vs Panasonic F5

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Canon SX520 HS and Panasonic F5, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Canon and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the SX520 HS (16MP) and the F5 (14MP) is very comparable and they possess the same exact sensor sizes (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The SX520 HS was announced 19 months later than the F5 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both the cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before diving through a complete comparison, below is a short summary of how the SX520 HS scores versus the F5 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Canon PowerShot SX520 HS & Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5. The whole galleries are viewable at Canon SX520 HS Gallery & Panasonic F5 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and dimensions. The Canon SX520 HS features physical dimensions of 120mm x 82mm x 92mm (4.7" x 3.2" x 3.6") having a weight of 441 grams (0.97 lbs) and the Panasonic F5 has dimensions of 97mm x 58mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9") having a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs).

Analyze the Canon SX520 HS and Panasonic F5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are using during that time. Below is the front view over all size comparison of the SX520 HS vs the F5.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the SX520 HS and F5 is 69 and 96 respectively.

Often, it is very difficult to visualize the contrast in sensor sizing simply by going through technical specs. The visual below should provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the SX520 HS and F5.

As you can tell, both of the cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing but different resolution. You can expect to see the Canon SX520 HS to produce extra detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos a little more aggressively. The more modern SX520 HS should have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.