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Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9

Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-12 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9 front
Portability
82
Imaging
60
Features
80
Overall
68

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 Key Specs

Olympus SZ-12
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Released January 2012
Panasonic GX9
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 407g - 124 x 72 x 47mm
  • Revealed February 2018
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 Overview

Here is a complete analysis of the Olympus SZ-12 and Panasonic GX9, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a substantial difference between the sensor resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and GX9 (20MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and GX9 (Four Thirds) use different sensor dimensions.

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The SZ-12 was launched 7 years prior to the GX9 and that is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic GX9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a short overview of how the SZ-12 scores versus the GX9 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Panasonic GX9

 SZ-12 GX9 

Reasons to pick Panasonic GX9 over the Olympus SZ-12

 GX9 SZ-12 
RevealedFebruary 2018January 2012Fresher by 74 months
Manual focus Dial precise focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1240k460kSharper screen (+780k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus SZ-12 and Panasonic GX9

 SZ-12 GX9 
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen sizing
Selfie screen Neither contains selfie screen

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is looking to carry your camera, you are going to need to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-12 has got outside dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Panasonic GX9 has proportions of 124mm x 72mm x 47mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.9") with a weight of 407 grams (0.90 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus SZ-12 and Panasonic GX9 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Following is the front view measurements comparison of the SZ-12 against the GX9.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-12 and GX9 is 89 and 82 respectively.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it can be tough to imagine the gap between sensor sizing purely by checking a spec sheet. The photograph underneath might give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-12 and GX9.

As you can see, each of the cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The SZ-12 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more challenging and the Panasonic GX9 will give greater detail utilizing its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs a little more aggressively. The older SZ-12 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus SZ-12
Portrait photography with Panasonic GX9
33
decent megapixels (14MP)
comes with face detect focusing
no manual focus
manual mode not possible
cannot use external flash
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
76
has manual focus
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection focus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic GX9 as a Street photography camera
60
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than average (226g)
no articulating screen
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
84
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
offers touch to focus
great ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Sports photography advice
Panasonic GX9 Sports photography advice
40
incredible zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
comes with tracking focus
continuous shooting slow (1.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
bad battery power (220 CIPA)
has no phase detect AF
72
quiet mode (1/16,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
resolution is good (20MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
sensor has phase detect auto focus
bad battery (260 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Travel photography info
Panasonic GX9 Travel photography info
65
lighter than average (226g)
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (25mm)
very long reach (600mm)
no Timelapse mode
bad battery power (220 per charge)
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
71
has bluetooth
offers touch to focus
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
flash built-in
bad battery (260 per charge)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus SZ-12
Landscape photography with Panasonic GX9
40
reasonably wide (25mm)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (14MP)
no manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
manual mode not possible
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
bad battery power (220 per charge)
no Timelapse mode
77
has manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
does not have anti-alias filter
great ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW files
bad battery (260 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-12 Vlogging factors
Panasonic GX9 Vlogging factors
31
reasonably wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with face detect focusing
lighter than average (226g)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
screen is not selfie friendly
video resolution low (1280 x 720 resolution)
no microphone jack
35
built-in touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detection focus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 pxls)
display isn't selfie friendly
does not have external mic support
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Olympus SZ-12 vs Panasonic GX9 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-12 and Panasonic GX9
 Olympus SZ-12Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Panasonic
Model Olympus SZ-12 Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced Mirrorless
Released 2012-01-10 2018-02-13
Physical type Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip - Venus Engine
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Four Thirds
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio - 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4288 x 3216 5184 x 3888
Highest native ISO 1600 25600
Minimum native ISO 80 200
RAW format
Minimum boosted ISO - 100
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points - 49
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens focal range 25-600mm (24.0x) -
Largest aperture f/3.0-6.9 -
Amount of lenses - 107
Focal length multiplier 5.8 2.1
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 460 thousand dots 1,240 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display technology TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,760 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4 secs 60 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/1700 secs 1/4000 secs
Maximum quiet shutter speed - 1/16000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 1.0 frames per sec 9.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range - 6.00 m (at ISO 200)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, auto w/redeye reduction, forced on, forced on w/redeye reduction, slow sync, slow sync w/redeye reduction, forced off
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) -
Highest video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Yes
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 226 gr (0.50 pounds) 407 gr (0.90 pounds)
Dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 124 x 72 x 47mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 220 shots 260 shots
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes (2 or 10 secs, 3 photos over 10 secs)
Time lapse feature
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC card (UHS-I supported)
Card slots 1 1
Retail price $350 $1,000