Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, We are going to illustrate Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7S has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89″) and weighs 489 g (1.08 lb / 17.25 oz) (including batteries). Panasonic LX5 has external dimensions of 110 x 65 x 43 mm (4.33 x 2.56 x 1.69″) and weighs 271 g (0.60 lb / 9.56 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5. Panasonic LX5 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 17mm narrower, 29mm shorter and 5mm thinner than Sony A7S. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic LX5 has a built-in lens but Sony A7S doesn't. Once you put a lens on A7S, its thickness will increase significantly.
![Sony A7S vs Panasonic LX5 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5.
![Sony A7S vs Panasonic LX5 Camera Size Comparison - Back View]()
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5 Size and Weight - Back View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5.
![Sony A7S vs Panasonic LX5 Camera Size Comparison - Top View]()
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5 Size
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Panasonic LX5 is significantly lighter (218g ) than the Sony A7S which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on A7S, the total kit will weigh much higher.
Weather Sealing
With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7S has a big advantage over LX5 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.
On the other hand, Sony A7S features a
Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Panasonic LX5 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7S.
Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Panasonic LX5 has a 10.0MP 1/1.63" (8.07 x 5.56 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Venus Engine FHD processor.
Below you can see the A7S and LX5 sensor size comparison.
![Sony A7S vs Panasonic LX5 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A7S has a 19.1x Larger sensor area than Panasonic LX5. 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 Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5 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, A7S has scored 87, 46 points higher than LX5.
| Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
|
Sony A7S |
87 |
23.9 bits |
13.2 Evs |
3702 ISO |
|
Panasonic LX5 |
41 |
19.6 bits |
10.8 Evs |
132 ISO |
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.
Sony A7S for Portrait Photography
Panasonic LX5 for Portrait Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Image Stabilization
External Flash Shoe
Optional External Viewfinder
Small 1/1.63" (8.07 x 5.56 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Sony A7S for Street Photography
Panasonic LX5 for Street Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Fast Lens at Wide: f2.00
24 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Optional External Viewfinder
Small 1/1.63" (8.07 x 5.56 mm) sensor
Read the details
Sony A7S for Sports Photography
Panasonic LX5 for Sports Photography
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Image Stabilization
External Flash Shoe
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
23 Focus Points
Optional External Viewfinder
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
90 mm Tele Lens
Read the details
Sony A7S for Daily Photography
Panasonic LX5 for Daily Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details
Compact Body
271g
Small 1/1.63" (8.07 x 5.56 mm) sensor
Body Thickness 43mm
3.8X Optical Zoom
Read the details
Sony A7S for Landscape Photography
Panasonic LX5 for Landscape Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details
24 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/1.63" (8.07 x 5.56 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.
Here is a summary of how Sony A7S and Panasonic LX5 scores compare:
Sony A7S
Ranked
#38 out of 85 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#70 out of 1218 in all Cameras
Panasonic LX5
Ranked
#56 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked
#475 out of 1218 in all Cameras
Sony A7S is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Panasonic LX5 in all criteria except one: Portability. But the size difference between these cameras are negligible in real world so it is not a big disadvantage for Sony A7S.
| General |
Sony Alpha A7S |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 |
| Brand |
Sony |
Panasonic |
| Announced |
2014-04-06 |
2011-12-15 |
| Body Type |
SLR-style mirrorless |
Compact |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CCD |
| Size |
Full frame |
1/1.63" |
| Dimensions |
35.8 x 23.9 mm |
8.07 x 5.56 mm |
| Area |
855.62mm2 |
44.87mm2 |
| Megapixels |
12 megapixels |
10 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
4240 x 2832 |
3648 x 2736 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
409,600 ISO |
12,800 ISO |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
100 ISO |
80 ISO |
| RAW Support |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
| AF Touch |
|
|
| AF Continuous |
|
|
| AF Single |
|
|
| AF Tracking |
|
|
| AF Selective |
|
|
| AF Center |
|
|
| AF Multi Area |
|
|
| AF Live View |
|
|
| AF Face Detection |
|
|
| AF Contrast Detection |
|
|
| AF Phase Detection |
|
|
| Number of Focus Points |
25 |
23 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Sony E |
fixed lens |
| Lens Focal Range |
no lens |
24-90 mm (3.8×) |
| Max Aperture |
no lens |
F2.0-3.3 |
| Macro Focus Range |
no lens |
1cm |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Tilting |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3 |
3" |
| Resolution |
1,230k dots |
460k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Electronic |
Electronic (optional) |
| Viewfinder Resolution |
2,359k dots |
no electronic viewfinder |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
n/a |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.71x |
n/a |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/8000s |
1/4000s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
Optical |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
no built-in flash |
7.20 m |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
5.0 fps |
3.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
3840 x 2160 |
1280 x 720 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC |
AVCHD Lite |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
489g |
271g |
| Dimensions |
127 x 94 x 48mm |
110 x 65 x 43mm |
| Battery Life |
360 shots |
n/a |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
With Downloadable App |
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
87 |
41 |
| DxO Color Depth |
23.9 |
19.6 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
13.2 |
10.8 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
3702 |
132 |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |