Panasonic S5 vs Sony S980

Let's look much closer at the Panasonic S5 versus Sony S980, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the S5 (24MP) and S980 (12MP) and the S5 (Full frame) and S980 (1/2.3") possess different sensor sizes.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The S5 was introduced 11 years later than the S980 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic S5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony S980 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight into a thorough comparison, below is a concise summary of how the S5 matches up versus the S980 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic S5 Gallery & Sony S980 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to carry your camera often, you have to factor its weight and measurements. The Panasonic S5 enjoys external measurements of 133mm x 97mm x 82mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 714 grams (1.57 lbs) whilst the Sony S980 has proportions of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic S5 versus Sony S980 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you use at that time. Below is the front view sizing comparison of the S5 versus the S980.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the S5 and S980 is 60 and 94 respectively.

In many cases, its tough to picture the difference between sensor sizing merely by going over specs. The photograph underneath will help give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the S5 and S980.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The S5 with its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic S5 will offer you more detail using its extra 12 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more recent S5 should have a benefit in sensor tech.