Nikon Z50 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z50 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon Z50 was introduced in October 2019 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 was introduced in December 2011. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z50 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 over Nikon Z50.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon Z50 has a 3.2" Tilting screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 has a 3.0" Fixed screen with 460k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Nikon Z50 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Nikon Z50 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Nikon Z50 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 1.02x (0.68x 35mm equivalent) magnification.Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached.

Nikon Z50 features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 369 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 100 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 features a 10.1 megapixel 1/1.63-inch CCD sensor with dimensions of 8.07 x 5.56 mm and a total area of 30.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 80 - 12,800.

Nikon Z50 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Nikon Z50 is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 is equipped with Venus Engine FHD processor and can take pictures up to 3648 x 2736 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3968 x 2232, 3776 x 2520, 3328 x 1872, 3168 x 2112, 3072 x 2304, 2784 x 1568, 2736 x 2736, 2656 x 1768, 2560 x 1920, 2304 x 2304, 2208 x 1248, 2112 x 1408, 2048 x 1536, 2048 x 1360, 1920 x 1920, 1920 x 1080, 1600 x 1200, 1536 x 1536, 640 x 480, 480 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon Z50

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon Z50. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 has an image stabilization.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Nikon Z50

Nikon Z50 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Nikon Z50

Nikon Z50 has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC on Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Nikon Z50 has a Micro HDMI and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z50 comes with EN-EL25 battery pack with battery life of 320 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z50 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z50 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon Z50, and up to 1/4000 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. Nikon Z50 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 can shoot continuously up to 2.5 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z50 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 209 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 has 23 focusing points. Nikon Z50 has detection range from -2 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z50 ranges from -4 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z50 and ±2 range on Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z50 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 7.00 m at ISO 100 on Nikon Z50 and 7.20 m on Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe to Nikon Z50 and via Shoe Mount to Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon Z50.

Nikon Z50 body has dimensions of 127 x 94 x 60 mm (5 x 3.7 x 2.36") and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 body has dimensions of 110 x 65 x 43 mm (4.33 x 2.56 x 1.69"). Nikon Z50 weighs 450 g (0.99 lb / 15.87 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 weighs 271 g (0.60 lb / 9.56 oz).

Nikon Z50

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

127 mm

94 mm

110 mm

65 mm

94 mm

65 mm

60 mm

43 mm