Olympus SH-1 vs Panasonic LX100

On this page, we will be reviewing the Olympus SH-1 and Panasonic LX100, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a big gap among the resolutions of the SH-1 (16MP) and LX100 (13MP) and the SH-1 (1/2.3") and LX100 (Four Thirds) provide different sensor dimensions.

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The SH-1 was unveiled 5 months earlier than the LX100 which means that they are of a similar generation. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SH-1 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic LX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going right into a complete comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the SH-1 grades against the LX100 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus SH-1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SH-1 Gallery and Panasonic LX100 Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry around your camera regularly, you will need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SH-1 enjoys physical measurements of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) whilst the Panasonic LX100 has dimensions of 115mm x 66mm x 55mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 2.2") with a weight of 393 grams (0.87 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SH-1 and Panasonic LX100 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you use at the time. Following is a front view scale comparison of the SH-1 compared to the LX100.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SH-1 and LX100 is 88 and 83 respectively.

Normally, its difficult to imagine the contrast in sensor sizes simply by researching a spec sheet. The picture here will help give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the SH-1 and LX100.

As you can see, the 2 cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The SH-1 with its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Olympus SH-1 will render more detail having an extra 3 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures a bit more aggressively.