Canon S90 vs Panasonic ZS80

On this page, we are looking at the Canon S90 and Panasonic ZS80, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Canon and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the S90 (10MP) and ZS80 (20MP) and the S90 (1/1.7") and ZS80 (1/2.3") boast different sensor dimensions.

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The S90 was unveiled 8 years earlier than the ZS80 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have the same body design (Compact).

Before getting right into a in depth comparison, here is a short highlight of how the S90 matches up against the ZS80 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Canon PowerShot S90 & Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80. The full galleries are provided at Canon S90 Gallery & Panasonic ZS80 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Canon S90 has outer measurements of 100mm x 58mm x 31mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 1.2") with a weight of 195 grams (0.43 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS80 has proportions of 112mm x 69mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7") along with a weight of 327 grams (0.72 lbs).

Check the Canon S90 and Panasonic ZS80 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have at that time. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the S90 compared to the ZS80.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the S90 and ZS80 is 92 and 86 respectively.

More often than not, it's tough to visualize the difference in sensor measurements simply by looking through technical specs. The graphic underneath might provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the S90 and ZS80.

As you have seen, both of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The S90 with its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field less difficult and the Panasonic ZS80 will provide you with more detail having an extra 10MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older S90 will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.