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Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2

Portability
88
Imaging
40
Features
48
Overall
43
Olympus SH-50 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 front
Portability
70
Imaging
51
Features
65
Overall
56

Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 Key Specs

Olympus SH-50
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 269g - 112 x 63 x 42mm
  • Revealed January 2013
Panasonic GH2
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 160 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 442g - 124 x 90 x 76mm
  • Revealed March 2011
  • Superseded the Panasonic GH1
  • Successor is Panasonic GH3
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Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 Overview

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the SH-50 (16MP) and the GH2 (16MP) is fairly close but the SH-50 (1/2.3") and GH2 (Four Thirds) possess different sensor sizes.

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The SH-50 was unveiled 22 months later than the GH2 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic GH2 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief view of how the SH-50 scores vs the GH2 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SH-50 over the Panasonic GH2

 SH-50 GH2 
RevealedJanuary 2013March 2011More recent by 22 months

Reasons to pick Panasonic GH2 over the Olympus SH-50

 GH2 SH-50 
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus SH-50 and Panasonic GH2

 SH-50 GH2 
Focus manually More precise focus
Display dimension3"3"Identical display dimensions
Display resolution460k460kIdentical display resolution
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to lug around your camera, you'll have to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus SH-50 enjoys physical measurements of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) whilst the Panasonic GH2 has measurements of 124mm x 90mm x 76mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 3.0") along with a weight of 442 grams (0.97 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you use at that time. The following is the front view scale comparison of the SH-50 and the GH2.

Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the SH-50 and GH2 is 88 and 70 respectively.

Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 Sensor Comparison

Often, it's tough to imagine the difference in sensor measurements purely by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic here will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the SH-50 and GH2.

As you can see, both of the cameras posses the exact same MP but different sensor measurements. The SH-50 provides the smaller sensor which should make achieving shallow depth of field trickier. The more modern SH-50 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 sensor size comparison

Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SH-50 Portrait photography highlights
Panasonic GH2 Portrait photography highlights
44
manual focus
megapixel count good (16MP)
offers face detection focusing
external flash not possible
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
70
focusing manually
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
includes face detect autofocus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus SH-50
Street photography with Panasonic GH2
64
built in image stabilization (Optical)
provides focus via touch
lighter than competition in class (269 grams)
screen is fixed
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
68
screen articulates
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SH-50 Sports photography info
Panasonic GH2 Sports photography info
48
excellent zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (16MP)
offers tracking autofocus
no shutter priority
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect AF
46
decent megapixels (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
includes tracking focus
low fps (3.0 fps)
lack of image stabilization
low battery pack (330 shots)
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SH-50 as a Travel photography camera
Panasonic GH2 as a Travel photography camera
69
lighter than competition in class (269 grams)
provides focus via touch
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
fairly wide (25mm)
very long reach (600mm)
missing Time Lapse function
display is not selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
62
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly screen
does not have Timelapse recording
low battery pack (330 per charge)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SH-50 Landscape photography features
Panasonic GH2 Landscape photography features
49
manual focus
fairly wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
can't swap lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
missing Time Lapse function
60
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3")
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
low battery pack (330 shots)
does not have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus SH-50
Vlogging with Panasonic GH2
34
fairly wide (25mm)
touchscreen enabled
built in image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detection focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition in class (269g)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
display is not selfie friendly
missing external mic socket
71
selfie friendly screen
built-in touchscreen
includes face detect autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
has microphone support
lack of image stabilization
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Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic GH2 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SH-50 and Panasonic GH2
 Olympus SH-50Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
General Information
Brand Olympus Panasonic
Model type Olympus SH-50 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced Mirrorless
Revealed 2013-01-08 2011-03-23
Physical type Compact SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VI Venus Engine FHD
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Four Thirds
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4608 x 3456 4608 x 3456
Maximum native ISO 6400 12800
Minimum native ISO 125 160
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points - 23
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens zoom range 25-600mm (24.0x) -
Largest aperture f/3.0-6.9 -
Macro focusing range 5cm -
Available lenses - 107
Focal length multiplier 5.8 2.1
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 460 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech - TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.71x
Features
Min shutter speed 15 seconds 60 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 12.0fps 3.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 4.00 m 15.60 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 480fps (176 x 128), 240fps (384 x 288) 1920 x 1080 (24, 30, 60fps) 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 AVCHD, Motion JPEG
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 269 gr (0.59 lbs) 442 gr (0.97 lbs)
Dimensions 112 x 63 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") 124 x 90 x 76mm (4.9" x 3.5" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 60
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 21.2
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 11.3
DXO Low light rating not tested 655
Other
Battery life - 330 images
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID SLB-10A -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, Pet Auto Shutter) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots 1 1
Launch price $300 $1,000