Panasonic GM5 vs Sony RX100

On this page, we are analyzing the Panasonic GM5 versus Sony RX100, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Panasonic and Sony. The sensor resolution of the GM5 (16MP) and the RX100 (20MP) is fairly close but the GM5 (Four Thirds) and RX100 (1") boast totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The GM5 was unveiled 2 years later than the RX100 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Panasonic GM5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going into a complete comparison, here is a simple summary of how the GM5 grades vs the RX100 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100. The full galleries are provided at Panasonic GM5 Gallery & Sony RX100 Gallery.

If you are going to carry your camera often, you'll need to factor its weight and size. The Panasonic GM5 has outside measurements of 99mm x 60mm x 36mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 211 grams (0.47 lbs) while the Sony RX100 has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") having a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

See the Panasonic GM5 versus Sony RX100 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have at that moment. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the GM5 vs the RX100.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the GM5 and RX100 is 91 and 91 respectively.

Normally, its difficult to envision the gap in sensor sizing purely by researching a spec sheet. The visual here should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the GM5 and RX100.

As you can see, each of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The GM5 having a larger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Sony RX100 will render more detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The fresher GM5 is going to have an edge in sensor innovation.