Olympus SH-1 vs Panasonic GX850

Its time to take a closer look at the Olympus SH-1 and Panasonic GX850, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the SH-1 (16MP) and the GX850 (16MP) is fairly close but the SH-1 (1/2.3") and GX850 (Four Thirds) provide different sensor measurements.

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The SH-1 was introduced 3 years before the GX850 and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus SH-1 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic GX850 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a short introduction of how the SH-1 scores versus the GX850 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus SH-1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850. The whole galleries are available at Olympus SH-1 Gallery and Panasonic GX850 Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera regularly, you should factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SH-1 offers outside dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) while the Panasonic GX850 has dimensions of 107mm x 65mm x 33mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.3") with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Look at the Olympus SH-1 and Panasonic GX850 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you have at the time. Below is a front view size comparison of the SH-1 versus the GX850.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the SH-1 and GX850 is 88 and 90 respectively.

Often, it can be tough to imagine the contrast in sensor measurements simply by looking through technical specs. The photograph underneath will help give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the SH-1 and GX850.

As you have seen, both of these cameras provide the same MP but different sensor measurements. The SH-1 offers the smaller sensor which is going to make getting shallower depth of field more difficult. The older SH-1 will be behind in sensor innovation.