Leica D-LUX 5 vs Panasonic SZ3

Its time to examine more closely at the Leica D-LUX 5 and Panasonic SZ3, both Small Sensor Compact digital cameras by rivals Leica and Panasonic. There exists a significant gap between the image resolutions of the D-LUX 5 (10MP) and SZ3 (16MP) and the D-LUX 5 (1/1.63") and SZ3 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor measurements.

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The D-LUX 5 was released 3 years prior to the SZ3 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before delving through a detailed comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the D-LUX 5 matches up versus the SZ3 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Leica D-LUX 5 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ3. The complete galleries are viewable at Leica D-LUX 5 Gallery and Panasonic SZ3 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to lug around your camera frequently, you have to consider its weight and volume. The Leica D-LUX 5 features physical measurements of 110mm x 66mm x 43mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.7") along with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) whilst the Panasonic SZ3 has sizing of 95mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 126 grams (0.28 lbs).

Compare the Leica D-LUX 5 and Panasonic SZ3 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have during that time. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the D-LUX 5 and the SZ3.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the D-LUX 5 and SZ3 is 88 and 96 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to see the contrast between sensor measurements purely by looking at specs. The graphic here might give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the D-LUX 5 and SZ3.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The D-LUX 5 because of its larger sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic SZ3 will give more detail as a result of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older D-LUX 5 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.