Olympus SH-50 vs Panasonic LX5

Following is a extensive overview of the Olympus SH-50 versus Panasonic LX5, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the SH-50 (16MP) and LX5 (10MP) and the SH-50 (1/2.3") and LX5 (1/1.63") use different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The SH-50 was announced 13 months after the LX5 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both of these cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before going straight into a in depth comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the SH-50 grades vs the LX5 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus SH-50 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus SH-50 Gallery & Panasonic LX5 Gallery.

When you are going to carry around your camera regularly, you will want to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus SH-50 has outside dimensions of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) and the Panasonic LX5 has measurements of 110mm x 65mm x 43mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus SH-50 versus Panasonic LX5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have attached at the time. Below is the front view over all size comparison of the SH-50 against the LX5.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the SH-50 and LX5 is 88 and 88 respectively.

Often, it is difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor sizes only by reading specs. The image here might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the SH-50 and LX5.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The SH-50 with its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF more challenging and the Olympus SH-50 will offer you greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The newer SH-50 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.