Panasonic S5 vs Sony QX30

Its time to take a closer look at the Panasonic S5 and Sony QX30, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Lens-style by companies Panasonic and Sony. The sensor resolution of the S5 (24MP) and the QX30 (20MP) is pretty comparable but the S5 (Full frame) and QX30 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor measurements.

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The S5 was launched 6 years after the QX30 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic S5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony QX30 being a Lens-style camera.

Before going straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the S5 scores vs the QX30 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30. The complete galleries are provided at Panasonic S5 Gallery & Sony QX30 Gallery.

In case you're planning to carry around your camera, you should take into account its weight and proportions. The Panasonic S5 offers outer dimensions of 133mm x 97mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2") having a weight of 714 grams (1.57 lbs) and the Sony QX30 has measurements of 68mm x 65mm x 58mm (2.7" x 2.6" x 2.3") along with a weight of 193 grams (0.43 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic S5 and Sony QX30 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you use at the time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the S5 vs the QX30.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the S5 and QX30 is 60 and 91 respectively.

Quite often, it's tough to visualise the gap in sensor sizes purely by checking out technical specs. The picture here will provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the S5 and QX30.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The S5 due to its bigger sensor will make getting shallower DOF less difficult and the Panasonic S5 will show greater detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs more aggressively. The more modern S5 will have a benefit in sensor tech.