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Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 Mark II Comparison

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Camera to replace
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Sony H50

9 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) CCD Sensor

Sony H50
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Panasonic S5 II

24 MP | Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

Panasonic S5 II
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Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 II Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Sony H50, which was introduced in January 2009 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 9.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Panasonic S5 II, which was introduced in January 2023 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 24.0MP Full frame sensor. As you can see, H50 is 14 years older than S5 Mark II. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of the Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony H50 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2009-01-15
  • 9MP - 1/2.3-inch CCD Sensor
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • 31-465 mm F2.7-4.5 Zoom Lens
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Fixed Type Screen
  • Electronic viewfinder
  • 2.0fps continuous shooting
  • - 640 x 480 video resolution
  • 547g. 116 x 81 x 86 mm

Panasonic S5 II Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2023-01-04
  • 24MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor
  • No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter
  • ISO 100 - 51200 ( expands to 50 - 204800)
  • Leica L Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 3680k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 9.0fps (30.0fps Electronic) continuous shooting
  • 6K - 5952 x 3968 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 740g. 134 x 102 x 90 mm
  • Weather-sealed Body
  • Replaced Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Compare

Let's read on in the following sections in order to better understand in detail how the Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.


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**This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50 over Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Mark II
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Internal Storage
15 MB vs None Extra built-in storage
Weight
547 g vs 740 g 193 g lighter
CHECK H50 PRICE


Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Mark II over Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50
Video Record Limit
Unlimited vs Limited Record clips longer than 30 minutes
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs None Better connectivity
Live Composite Mode
Yes vs No Excellent help for long-exposure photography
LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs No very handy for portraits
Sensor Resolution
24 MP vs 9 MP 166% more pixels
Max ISO
51.200 vs 3.200 1500% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
779 vs 9 770 more focus points
LCD Resolution
1.840k dots vs 230k dots 700% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
30.0fps vs 2.0fps 28 fps faster
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Sensor Pixel Area
35.30µm2 vs 3.13µm2 1027% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution
5952 x 3968 vs 640 x 480 Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Full-size HDMI Port
Yes vs No Use standard HDMI cables without adapters
Selfie & Vlogger LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
Pixel Shift High-Res Mode
Yes (96 MP) vs No Increased resolution with pixel shift
4K Photo Mode
Yes vs No Extract 8MP photos from 4K Video
6K Photo Mode
Yes vs No Extract 18MP photos from Video footage
Bluetooth
Yes vs No Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Focus Bracketing
Yes vs No Take multiple photos shifting focus point
Focus Stacking
Yes vs No Stacks photos in-camera to maximize depth of field
Post Focus Mode
Yes vs No Change focus point after taking a shot
Storage Slot
2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support
UHS-II vs none Read/Write in High Speeds
USB Version
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (5 GBit/sec) vs USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Faster Data transfer from the camera
Animal Eye AF Tracking
Yes vs No Easily lock and track focus on animals
Webcam Function
Yes vs No Use your camera as a Webcam
Anti Flicker
Yes vs No Reduced uneven color and exposure under flickering light
Eye Tracking Focus
Yes vs No Autofocus system locks on the eye and tracks the subject
CHECK S5 Mark II PRICE

Common Strengths of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Mark II
Image Stabilization
Optical vs Sensor-shift Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Viewfinder
Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Electronic) Better framing and control
Common Weaknesses of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50 and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Mark II
Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 II: Physical Specs and Body Features Comparison

Size and weight are big decision factors when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, we are going to illustrate the Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony H50 has external dimensions of 116 x 81 x 86 mm (4.57 x 3.2 x 3.39″) and weighs 547 g (1.21 lb / 19.29 oz) (including batteries). Panasonic S5 II has external dimensions of 134 x 102 x 90 mm (5.29 x 4.03 x 3.55″) and weighs 740 g (1.63 lb / 26.10 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front-view size comparison of the Sony H50 and the Panasonic S5 II. Sony H50 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 18mm narrower, 21mm shorter and 4mm thinner than Panasonic S5 II. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Sony H50 has a built-in lens but Panasonic S5 II doesn't. Once you put a lens on S5 Mark II, its thickness will increase significantly.

Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 II Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of the Sony H50 and the Panasonic S5 II Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of the Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II.

Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 II Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of the Sony H50 and the Panasonic S5 II Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II.
Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 II Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of the Sony H50 and the the Panasonic S5 II Size

Weight is another important factor, especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony H50 is significantly lighter (193g ) than the Panasonic S5 II 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 S5 Mark II, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Thanks to the weather-sealed body of the S5 Mark II, you can use this camera with more confidence under conditions where there is risk of exposure to water and dust compared to the H50.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II's LCD screens have the same diagonal size of 3.00 inches.

On the other hand, Panasonic S5 II sports a Fully Articulated screen which you can change the angle and position of the screen almost freely, making it possible to shoot from waist or over-the-head levels, and especially very useful for shooting selfies and video. Sony H50's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to S5 Mark II.


Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 II: Sensor Comparison

Sony H50 has a 9.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Panasonic S5 II has a 24.0MP Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor.

Panasonic S5 II's sensor provides 15MP more than Sony H50's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely. On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.

One other difference between these two cameras that is worth mentioning is that Panasonic S5 II'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 H50 and S5 Mark II sensor size comparison.

Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 II Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II Cameras


As seen above, Panasonic S5 II has a 30.2x Larger sensor area than Sony H50. 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.

What types of Photography are Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony H50 and Panasonic S5 II 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 H50 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Panasonic S5 II for Portrait Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 9.0MP
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Sony H50 for Street Photography

GOOD

Panasonic S5 II for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Small Body
Live-view
Fast Lens at Wide: f2.70
31 mm - Not so Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Sony H50 for Sports Photography

POOR

Panasonic S5 II for Sports Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
465 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 2.0fps
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 9.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
779 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Anti Flicker feature
Read the details

Sony H50 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Panasonic S5 II for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT
Compact Body
15.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
547g
Body Thickness 86mm
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Anti Flicker feature
Medium size Body
740g
Body Thickness 90mm
Read the details

Sony H50 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Panasonic S5 II for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
31 mm - Not so Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 9.0MP
No RAW shooting capability
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 24.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details

Sony H50 vs Panasonic S5 II: OUR DECISION

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 H50 and Panasonic S5 II, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 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 H50 and Panasonic S5 II scores compare:

Sony H50
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #232 out of 477 in Compact cameras
Ranked #856 out of 1260 in all Cameras
Panasonic S5 II
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #20 out of 111 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #21 out of 1260 in all Cameras

Panasonic S5 II is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Sony H50 in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Sony H50. Otherwise, Panasonic S5 II is the better camera overall.

Sony H50
Sony H50
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Panasonic S5 II
Panasonic S5 II
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Panasonic S5 II vs Sony H50 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50 Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 Mark II
Brand Sony Panasonic
Announced 2009-01-15 2023-01-04
Body Type Compact SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type CCD CMOS
Size 1/2.3-inch Full frame
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 35.6 x 23.8 mm
Area 28.07mm2 847.28mm2
Megapixels 9 megapixels 24 megapixels
Max Resolution 3456 x 2592 6000 x 4000
Max Native Light sensitivity 3,200 ISO 51,200 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity - 204800 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 80 ISO 100 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity - 50 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 9 779
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Leica L
Lens Focal Range 31-465 mm (15×) no lens
Max Aperture F2.7-4.5 no lens
Macro Focus Range 1cm no lens
Screen
Type Fixed type Fully Articulated
Size 3.00" 3.00"
Resolution 230k dots 1,840k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution n/a 3,680k dots
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 100%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.78x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/4000s 1/8000s
Max Electronic Shutter n/a 1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Optical Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 9.10 m no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/250s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 2.0 fps 9.0 fps
Multi-Segment Metering
Average Metering
Spot Metering
Partial Metering
AF-Area Metering
Center Weighted Metering
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 640 x 480 5952 x 3968
Video Formats n/a MPEG-4, H.264, H.265
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity None Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 547g 740g
Dimensions 116 x 81 x 86mm 134 x 102 x 90mm
Battery Life n/a 370 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
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