Olympus SP-590 UZ vs Panasonic S5

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus SP-590 UZ vs Panasonic S5, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap between the resolutions of the SP-590 UZ (12MP) and S5 (24MP) and the SP-590 UZ (1/2.3") and S5 (Full frame) posses totally different sensor size.

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The SP-590 UZ was revealed 12 years earlier than the S5 and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SP-590 UZ being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Panasonic S5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting right into a complete comparison, here is a simple overview of how the SP-590 UZ matches up versus the S5 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus SP-590 UZ & Panasonic Lumix DC-S5. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SP-590 UZ Gallery & Panasonic S5 Gallery.

If you're intending to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus SP-590 UZ has external measurements of 116mm x 84mm x 81mm (4.6" x 3.3" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 413 grams (0.91 lbs) while the Panasonic S5 has sizing of 133mm x 97mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2") and a weight of 714 grams (1.57 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SP-590 UZ vs Panasonic S5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Here is a front view dimension comparison of the SP-590 UZ compared to the S5.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SP-590 UZ and S5 is 72 and 60 respectively.

Quite often, it's tough to see the gap between sensor measurements only by reading specifications. The visual here should give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the SP-590 UZ and S5.

Plainly, each of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The SP-590 UZ with its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field tougher and the Panasonic S5 will offer extra detail because of its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos more aggressively. The older SP-590 UZ is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.