Panasonic GX9 has a
20.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor. On the other hand, Sony HX80 has a
18.0MP (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Panasonic GX9's sensor lacks 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 GX9 and HX80 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic GX9 and Sony HX80 Cameras
As seen above, Panasonic GX9 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Sony HX80. 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
Panasonic GX9
or the
Sony HX80 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Four Thirds 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.
