Both Olympus TG-850 iHS and Panasonic GX85 have 16.0 MP resolution sensors but Olympus TG-850 iHS's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Panasonic GX85's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).
Since Panasonic GX85'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 Olympus TG-850 iHS.
One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Panasonic GX85's sensor doesn't have an anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the TG-850 iHS and GX85 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus TG-850 iHS and Panasonic GX85 Cameras
As seen above, Panasonic GX85 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Olympus TG-850 iHS. 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.
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
Olympus TG-850 iHS
or the
Panasonic GX85 ,
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.
