Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FP5

Let's look more closely at the Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FP5, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Ultracompact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The sensor resolution of the VH-515 (12MP) and the FP5 (14MP) is pretty comparable and both cameras posses the identical sensor size (1/2.3").

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The VH-515 was released 20 months later than the FP5 which makes them a generation apart from one another. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FP5 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before diving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick overview of how the VH-515 grades against the FP5 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VH-515 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP5. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus VH-515 Gallery and Panasonic FP5 Gallery.

When you are going to lug around your camera frequently, you have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus VH-515 provides outer dimensions of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FP5 has dimensions of 101mm x 59mm x 18mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 0.7") with a weight of 141 grams (0.31 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus VH-515 vs Panasonic FP5 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Below is a front view over all size comparison of the VH-515 and the FP5.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the VH-515 and FP5 is 95 and 95 respectively.

Normally, it's difficult to visualise the gap in sensor measurements just by seeing specs. The graphic here will help offer you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the VH-515 and FP5.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit not the same resolution. You should expect the Panasonic FP5 to provide extra detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The newer VH-515 will have an advantage with regard to sensor innovation.