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Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500

Portability
95
Imaging
37
Features
33
Overall
35
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500 front
Portability
91
Imaging
44
Features
56
Overall
48

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 Key Specs

Panasonic FP5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 35-140mm (F3.5-5.9) lens
  • 141g - 101 x 59 x 18mm
  • Introduced January 2011
Sony WX500
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 80 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.5-6.4) lens
  • 236g - 102 x 58 x 36mm
  • Announced April 2015
  • Superseded the Sony WX350
Photography Glossary

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 Overview

Lets look a bit more in depth at the Panasonic FP5 and Sony WX500, former being a Ultracompact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the image resolutions of the FP5 (14MP) and WX500 (18MP) but both cameras posses the identical sensor size (1/2.3").

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The FP5 was announced 5 years earlier than the WX500 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FP5 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony WX500 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a in depth comparison, here is a concise summary of how the FP5 matches up versus the WX500 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FP5 over the Sony WX500

 FP5 WX500 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony WX500 over the Panasonic FP5

 WX500 FP5 
AnnouncedApril 2015January 2011More recent by 52 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution921k230kCrisper screen (+691k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic FP5 and Sony WX500

 FP5 WX500 
Manual focus Lack of manual focusing
Screen size3"3"Same screen size
Selfie screen No selfie screen

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera frequently, you need to factor its weight and volume. The Panasonic FP5 offers outer measurements of 101mm x 59mm x 18mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 0.7") with a weight of 141 grams (0.31 lbs) whilst the Sony WX500 has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 236 grams (0.52 lbs).

See the Panasonic FP5 and Sony WX500 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have during that time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the FP5 vs the WX500.

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FP5 and WX500 is 95 and 91 respectively.

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it is tough to picture the gap in sensor measurements just by looking through a spec sheet. The visual here will help give you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the FP5 and WX500.

As you can see, both the cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit different MP. You can count on the Sony WX500 to result in extra detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The older FP5 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 sensor size comparison

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FP5 Portrait photography info
Sony WX500 Portrait photography info
33
MP count good (14MP)
has face detect focus
no manual focus
lack of manual mode
external flash not possible
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
39
decent megapixels (18 megapixels)
features face detection autofocus
lack of manual focus
no external flash support
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Street Comparison

Panasonic FP5 Street photography advice
Sony WX500 Street photography advice
63
built in image stabilization (Optical)
comes with focus by touch
no articulating screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
70
screen tilts
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (236g)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic FP5 as a Sports photography camera
Sony WX500 as a Sports photography camera
43
built in image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
has tracking focus
better than average battery power (260 CIPA)
low fps (6.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect auto focus
57
great zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (18MP)
features tracking autofocus
great battery (360 CIPA)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Panasonic FP5
Travel photography with Sony WX500
65
better than average battery power (260 shots)
comes with focus by touch
MP count good (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
doesn't have Timelapse mode
display isn't selfie friendly
wide angle not great (35mm)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
71
great battery (360 CIPA)
lighter than competition in class (236g)
decent megapixels (18 megapixels)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (24mm)
very long zoom (720mm)
no Time Lapse function
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic FP5 Landscape photography information
Sony WX500 Landscape photography information
40
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14MP)
better than average battery power (260 per charge)
no manual focus
cannot switch lens (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not great (35mm)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
lack of manual mode
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
doesn't have Timelapse mode
49
reasonably wide (24mm)
screen size is decent (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (18MP)
great battery (360 shots)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW format
no Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic FP5 as a Vlogging camera
Sony WX500 as a Vlogging camera
30
built-in touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focus
wide angle not great (35mm)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
display isn't selfie friendly
video quality not great (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have microphone support
35
reasonably wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
features face detection autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competition in class (236g)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
screen isn't selfie friendly
no external mic jack
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Panasonic FP5 vs Sony WX500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FP5 and Sony WX500
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500
General Information
Brand Name Panasonic Sony
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500
Class Ultracompact Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2011-01-05 2015-04-14
Body design Ultracompact Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine IV Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 18 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4320 x 3240 4896 x 3672
Max native ISO 6400 12800
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points 11 -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 35-140mm (4.0x) 24-720mm (30.0x)
Maximal aperture f/3.5-5.9 f/3.5-6.4
Macro focus distance 10cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.9 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen technology TFT Touch Screen LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/1600s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting speed 6.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.90 m 5.40 m (with Auto ISO)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction Auto, flash on, slow sync, flash off, rear sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (30p)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data format Motion JPEG AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 141g (0.31 lb) 236g (0.52 lb)
Physical dimensions 101 x 59 x 18mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 0.7") 102 x 58 x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 260 shots 360 shots
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Price at launch $199 $348