Olympus VR-340 vs Panasonic S5

Let's look a bit more closely at the Olympus VR-340 and Panasonic S5, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a considerable difference between the resolutions of the VR-340 (16MP) and S5 (24MP) and the VR-340 (1/2.3") and S5 (Full frame) provide different sensor sizes.

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The VR-340 was unveiled 9 years before the S5 which is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus VR-340 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic S5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple overview of how the VR-340 scores vs the S5 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus VR-340 & Panasonic Lumix DC-S5. The full galleries are provided at Olympus VR-340 Gallery & Panasonic S5 Gallery.

When you are looking to travel with your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus VR-340 enjoys outer measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) and the Panasonic S5 has sizing of 133mm x 97mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2") having a weight of 714 grams (1.57 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VR-340 and Panasonic S5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. Following is a front view dimension comparison of the VR-340 against the S5.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the VR-340 and S5 is 96 and 60 respectively.

Generally, it's hard to picture the difference between sensor dimensions simply by reviewing specifications. The image underneath will offer you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the VR-340 and S5.

To sum up, each of the cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The VR-340 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Panasonic S5 will offer greater detail having an extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The more aged VR-340 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.