Panasonic F5 vs Sony A500

Lets examine more in depth at the Panasonic F5 versus Sony A500, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Sony. The sensor resolution of the F5 (14MP) and the A500 (12MP) is fairly close but the F5 (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

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The F5 was revealed 3 years after the A500 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic F5 being a Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting in to a thorough comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the F5 scores versus the A500 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The full galleries are viewable at Panasonic F5 Gallery & Sony A500 Gallery.

When you are going to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic F5 comes with outside dimensions of 97mm x 58mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9") along with a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs) while the Sony A500 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic F5 versus Sony A500 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have chosen at that time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the F5 vs the A500.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the F5 and A500 is 96 and 63 respectively.

In many cases, its difficult to envision the gap in sensor sizes only by viewing specifications. The image underneath will offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the F5 and A500.

To sum up, both of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The F5 using its smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Panasonic F5 will provide you with more detail because of its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop photos a little more aggressively. The more modern F5 will have an advantage in sensor technology.