Canon S120 vs Panasonic TS30

In this write-up, we are looking at the Canon S120 and Panasonic TS30, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Waterproof by competitors Canon and Panasonic. There exists a big gap between the image resolutions of the S120 (12MP) and TS30 (16MP) and the S120 (1/1.7") and TS30 (1/2.3") possess different sensor sizes.

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The S120 was revealed 13 months before the TS30 making the cameras a generation away from one another. Both of the cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before going through a thorough comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the S120 matches up vs the TS30 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Canon PowerShot S120 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS30. The full galleries are provided at Canon S120 Gallery and Panasonic TS30 Gallery.

When you are aiming to carry around your camera regularly, you have to factor its weight and proportions. The Canon S120 comes with physical dimensions of 100mm x 59mm x 29mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 217 grams (0.48 lbs) and the Panasonic TS30 has measurements of 104mm x 58mm x 20mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 0.8") and a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Look at the Canon S120 and Panasonic TS30 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have attached at the time. Below is the front view physical size comparison of the S120 against the TS30.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the S120 and TS30 is 92 and 95 respectively.

Quite often, it is tough to picture the gap between sensor sizes merely by looking at specifications. The image here may offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the S120 and TS30.

To sum up, both of these cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The S120 with its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic TS30 will give you extra detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images a little more aggressively. The more aged S120 is going to be behind in sensor tech.