Panasonic GF5 vs Sony RX10 II

Its time to look a little more closely at the Panasonic GF5 and Sony RX10 II, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by companies Panasonic and Sony. There is a sizeable difference between the sensor resolutions of the GF5 (12MP) and RX10 II (20MP) and the GF5 (Four Thirds) and RX10 II (1") provide totally different sensor measurements.

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The GF5 was announced 4 years prior to the RX10 II and that is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic GF5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX10 II being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting into a in-depth comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the GF5 scores versus the RX10 II when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic GF5 Gallery and Sony RX10 II Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera, you have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic GF5 has got outside dimensions of 108mm x 67mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.5") with a weight of 267 grams (0.59 lbs) while the Sony RX10 II has measurements of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") accompanied by a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Compare the Panasonic GF5 and Sony RX10 II in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have attached at the time. Underneath is a front view size comparison of the GF5 versus the RX10 II.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the GF5 and RX10 II is 89 and 58 respectively.

Generally, its hard to see the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading specs. The photograph below will provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the GF5 and RX10 II.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The GF5 having a larger sensor will make getting shallower DOF simpler and the Sony RX10 II will deliver more detail with its extra 8MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older GF5 is going to be behind in sensor technology.