Panasonic GF5 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine FHD processor. On the other hand, Sony NEX-5R has a
16.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.
Below you can see the GF5 and NEX-5R sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic GF5 and Sony NEX-5R Cameras
As seen above, Sony NEX-5R has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GF5. 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. Panasonic GF5 and Sony NEX-5R sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that NEX-5R has a better overall score of 78, 28 points higher compared to GF5's score of 50.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Panasonic GF5
50
20.5 bits
10.0 Evs
573 ISO
Sony NEX-5R
78
23.7 bits
13.1 Evs
910 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
Panasonic GF5
or the
Sony NEX-5R ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Four Thirds versus APS-C),
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.
