Canon SD970 IS vs Panasonic ZS60

Here, we will be looking at the Canon SD970 IS and Panasonic ZS60, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Canon and Panasonic. There exists a noticeable gap between the image resolutions of the SD970 IS (12MP) and ZS60 (18MP) but both cameras have the identical sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

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The SD970 IS was introduced 7 years prior to the ZS60 which is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before delving into a detailed comparison, here is a concise overview of how the SD970 IS scores vs the ZS60 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Canon PowerShot SD970 IS & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS60. The whole galleries are viewable at Canon SD970 IS Gallery & Panasonic ZS60 Gallery.

In case you're planning to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and volume. The Canon SD970 IS offers external measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 26mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 1.0") accompanied by a weight of 160 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS60 has sizing of 112mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 282 grams (0.62 lbs).

Analyze the Canon SD970 IS and Panasonic ZS60 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have attached at the time. Underneath is a front view proportions comparison of the SD970 IS compared to the ZS60.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SD970 IS and ZS60 is 94 and 88 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to picture the gap between sensor sizes simply by going over specifications. The picture below will provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the SD970 IS and ZS60.

To sum up, both cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit different MP. You can expect the Panasonic ZS60 to deliver more detail using its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The more aged SD970 IS is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.