Both Canon SX50 HS and Panasonic GF5 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon SX50 HS's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Panasonic GF5's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).
Since Panasonic GF5's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Canon SX50 HS.
Below you can see the SX50 HS and GF5 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon SX50 HS and Panasonic GF5 Cameras
As seen above, Panasonic GF5 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Canon SX50 HS. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Canon SX50 HS and Panasonic GF5 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that GF5 has a better overall score of 50, 3 points higher compared to SX50 HS's score of 47.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon SX50 HS
47
20.3 bits
11.2 Evs
179 ISO
Panasonic GF5
50
20.5 bits
10.0 Evs
573 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Canon SX50 HS
or the
Panasonic GF5 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3-inch versus Four Thirds),
so compare them at the same framing rather than the same focal length.
Put the same focal length on the smaller sensor and it will show less depth of
field, not more, because it also crops tighter. The calculator shows the
full frame equivalent focal length for each body so you can match the framing.
