Both Olympus XZ-2 iHS and Panasonic ZS50 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Olympus XZ-2 iHS's sensor is 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) and Panasonic ZS50's sensor is
Since Olympus XZ-2 iHS'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 Panasonic ZS50.
Below you can see the XZ-2 iHS and ZS50 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus XZ-2 iHS and Panasonic ZS50 Cameras
As seen above, Olympus XZ-2 iHS has a 1.5x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS50. 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
Both Olympus XZ-2 iHS and Panasonic ZS50 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark 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. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, XZ-2 iHS has scored 49, 5 points higher than ZS50.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Olympus XZ-2 iHS
49
20.4 bits
11.3 Evs
216 ISO
Panasonic ZS50
44
20.0 bits
11.2 Evs
138 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
Olympus XZ-2 iHS
or the
Panasonic ZS50 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/1.7-inch versus ),
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.
