Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2500 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Comparison

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Lumix DMC-FZ2500 image
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Lumix DMC-LX5 image
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2500 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
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Megapixels
20.10
10.10
Max. image resolution
5472 x 3648
3648 x 2736

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CCD
Sensor size
13.2 x 8.8 mm
1/1.63" (~ 7.85 x 5.89 mm)
Sensor resolution
5492 x 3661
3665 x 2756
Diagonal
15.86 mm
9.81 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
2.51 : 1
(ratio)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2500 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
Surface area:
116.16 mm² vs 46.24 mm²
Difference: 69.92 mm² (151%)
FZ2500 sensor is approx. 2.51x bigger than LX5 sensor.
Note: You are comparing sensors of very different generations. There is a gap of 6 years between Panasonic FZ2500 (2016) and Panasonic LX5 (2010). Six years is a lot of time in terms of technology, meaning newer sensors are overall much more efficient than the older ones.
Pixel pitch
2.4 µm
2.14 µm
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Difference: 0.26 µm (12%)
Pixel pitch of FZ2500 is approx. 12% higher than pixel pitch of LX5.
Pixel area
5.76 µm²
4.58 µm²
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 1.18 µm² (26%)
A pixel on Panasonic FZ2500 sensor is approx. 26% bigger than a pixel on Panasonic LX5.
Pixel density
17.31 MP/cm²
21.8 MP/cm²
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Difference: 4.49 µm (26%)
Panasonic LX5 has approx. 26% higher pixel density than Panasonic FZ2500.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Panasonic FZ2500
Panasonic LX5
Crop factor
2.73
4.41
Total megapixels
20.90
11.30
Effective megapixels
20.10
10.10
Optical zoom
20x
3.8x
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 125-12800 (extends to 80-25600)
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
30 cm
50 cm
Macro focus range
3 cm
1 cm
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
24 - 480 mm
24 - 90 mm
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
f2.8 - f4.5
f2.0 - f3.3
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
f7.6 - f12.3
f8.8 - f14.6
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Centre weighted, Intelligent Multiple, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
60 sec
60 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Electronic (optional)
White balance presets
5
5
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
1,040,000 dots
460,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
4096x2160 (24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
SDHC, SDXC, Secure Digital
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-ion battery
Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Weight
966 g
233 g
Dimensions
137.6 x 101.9 x 134.7 mm
109.7 x 65.5 x 43.0 mm
Year
2016
2010




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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Panasonic FZ2500 diagonal

w = 13.20 mm
h = 8.80 mm
Diagonal =  13.20² + 8.80²   = 15.86 mm

Panasonic LX5 diagonal

The diagonal of LX5 sensor is not 1/1.63 or 0.61" (15.6 mm) as you might expect, but approximately two thirds of that value - 9.81 mm. If you want to know why, see sensor sizes.

w = 7.85 mm
h = 5.89 mm
Diagonal =  7.85² + 5.89²   = 9.81 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

FZ2500 sensor area

Width = 13.20 mm
Height = 8.80 mm

Surface area = 13.20 × 8.80 = 116.16 mm²

LX5 sensor area

Width = 7.85 mm
Height = 5.89 mm

Surface area = 7.85 × 5.89 = 46.24 mm²


Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel pitch =   sensor width in mm  × 1000
sensor resolution width in pixels

FZ2500 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 13.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5492 pixels
Pixel pitch =   13.20  × 1000  = 2.4 µm
5492

LX5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 7.85 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Pixel pitch =   7.85  × 1000  = 2.14 µm
3665


Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area =   sensor surface area in mm²
effective megapixels

FZ2500 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.4 µm

Pixel area = 2.4² = 5.76 µm²

LX5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 2.14 µm

Pixel area = 2.14² = 4.58 µm²


Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel density =  ( sensor resolution width in pixels )² / 1000000
sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:
Pixel density =   effective megapixels × 1000000  / 10000
sensor surface area in mm²

FZ2500 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5492 pixels
Sensor width = 1.32 cm

Pixel density = (5492 / 1.32)² / 1000000 = 17.31 MP/cm²

LX5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3665 pixels
Sensor width = 0.785 cm

Pixel density = (3665 / 0.785)² / 1000000 = 21.8 MP/cm²


Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000    →   
X =  effective megapixels × 1000000
r
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

FZ2500 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 13.20 mm
Sensor height = 8.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 20.10
r = 13.20/8.80 = 1.5
X =  20.10 × 1000000  = 3661
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3661 × 1.5 = 5492
Resolution vertical: X = 3661

Sensor resolution = 5492 x 3661

LX5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 7.85 mm
Sensor height = 5.89 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.10
r = 7.85/5.89 = 1.33
X =  10.10 × 1000000  = 2756
1.33
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2756 × 1.33 = 3665
Resolution vertical: X = 2756

Sensor resolution = 3665 x 2756


Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
Crop factor =   43.27 mm
sensor diagonal in mm


FZ2500 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 15.86 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 2.73
15.86

LX5 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 9.81 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 4.41
9.81

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

FZ2500 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 2.73
Aperture = f2.8 - f4.5

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.8 - f4.5) × 2.73 = f7.6 - f12.3

LX5 equivalent aperture

Crop factor = 4.41
Aperture = f2.0 - f3.3

35-mm equivalent aperture = (f2.0 - f3.3) × 4.41 = f8.8 - f14.6

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