Panasonic SZ5 vs Sony WX500

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Panasonic SZ5 versus Sony WX500, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the SZ5 (14MP) and WX500 (18MP) but both cameras have the identical sensor size (1/2.3").

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing

The SZ5 was announced 3 years before the WX500 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before getting right into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the SZ5 grades vs the WX500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ5 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic SZ5 Gallery and Sony WX500 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Panasonic SZ5 provides outside dimensions of 104mm x 58mm x 21mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 0.8") with a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs) and the Sony WX500 has proportions of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") with a weight of 236 grams (0.52 lbs).

See the Panasonic SZ5 versus Sony WX500 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the SZ5 vs the WX500.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SZ5 and WX500 is 95 and 91 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to picture the gap in sensor measurements just by looking through technical specs. The photograph underneath will provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ5 and WX500.

As you can tell, both cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit different resolution. You should expect the Sony WX500 to result in more detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older SZ5 will be behind in sensor technology.