Canon G12 vs Panasonic ZS100

Below is a comprehensive analysis of the Canon G12 and Panasonic ZS100, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Canon and Panasonic. There is a sizeable difference between the resolutions of the G12 (10MP) and ZS100 (20MP) and the G12 (1/1.7") and ZS100 (1") offer different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The G12 was released 6 years before the ZS100 and that is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Canon G12 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic ZS100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting right into a detailed comparison, here is a brief summation of how the G12 scores vs the ZS100 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Canon PowerShot G12 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100. The complete galleries are available at Canon G12 Gallery and Panasonic ZS100 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera, you'll need to think about its weight and volume. The Canon G12 enjoys physical measurements of 112mm x 76mm x 48mm (4.4" x 3.0" x 1.9") along with a weight of 401 grams (0.88 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS100 has sizing of 111mm x 65mm x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 312 grams (0.69 lbs).

See the Canon G12 and Panasonic ZS100 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you use during that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the G12 against the ZS100.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the G12 and ZS100 is 83 and 87 respectively.

In many cases, its tough to picture the contrast between sensor measurements simply by going over specs. The photograph below will help offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the G12 and ZS100.

All in all, the 2 cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The G12 due to its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field more difficult and the Panasonic ZS100 will deliver extra detail as a result of its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The older G12 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.