Canon SX120 IS vs Panasonic ZS30
87 Imaging
33 Features
28 Overall
31


92 Imaging
42 Features
48 Overall
44
Canon SX120 IS vs Panasonic ZS30 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 10MP - 1/2.5" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 1600
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 640 x 480 video
- 36-360mm (F2.8-4.3) lens
- 285g - 111 x 71 x 45mm
- Released August 2009
(Full Review)
- 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 24-480mm (F3.3-6.4) lens
- 198g - 105 x 59 x 28mm
- Introduced January 2013
- Other Name is Lumix DMC-TZ40
- Replaced the Panasonic ZS25
- Replacement is Panasonic ZS35

Canon SX120 IS vs Panasonic ZS30 Overview
Here is a thorough overview of the Canon SX120 IS and Panasonic ZS30, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Canon and Panasonic. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the SX120 IS (10MP) and ZS30 (18MP) and the SX120 IS (1/2.5") and ZS30 (1/2.3") possess totally different sensor measurements.

The SX120 IS was launched 4 years before the ZS30 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).
Before diving through a complete comparison, below is a concise summation of how the SX120 IS matches up versus the ZS30 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Canon SX120 IS vs Panasonic ZS30 Gallery
This is a preview of the gallery images for Canon PowerShot SX120 IS & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30. The complete galleries are available at Canon SX120 IS Gallery & Panasonic ZS30 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Canon SX120 IS over the Panasonic ZS30
SX120 IS | ZS30 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | ![]() | Dial accurate focusing |
Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS30 over the Canon SX120 IS
ZS30 | SX120 IS | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced | January 2013 | ![]() | August 2009 | Fresher by 41 months |
Screen resolution | 920k | ![]() | 230k | Crisper screen (+690k dot) |
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Canon SX120 IS and Panasonic ZS30
SX120 IS | ZS30 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed screen |
Screen dimension | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Identical screen measurements |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Lacking selfie screen |
Canon SX120 IS vs Panasonic ZS30 Physical Comparison
For those who are planning to carry your camera regularly, you are going to need to take into account its weight and volume. The Canon SX120 IS comes with physical measurements of 111mm x 71mm x 45mm (4.4" x 2.8" x 1.8") having a weight of 285 grams (0.63 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS30 has sizing of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") along with a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs).
Look at the Canon SX120 IS and Panasonic ZS30 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you choose at the time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the SX120 IS vs the ZS30.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SX120 IS and ZS30 is 87 and 92 respectively.

Canon SX120 IS vs Panasonic ZS30 Sensor Comparison
Sometimes, it's difficult to envision the gap in sensor sizing purely by checking out specs. The graphic below might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the SX120 IS and ZS30.
As you can plainly see, each of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The SX120 IS because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallower DOF tougher and the Panasonic ZS30 will provide extra detail utilizing its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older SX120 IS will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Canon SX120 IS vs Panasonic ZS30 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Canon SX120 IS vs Panasonic ZS30 Specifications
Canon PowerShot SX120 IS | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Company | Canon | Panasonic |
Model | Canon PowerShot SX120 IS | Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 |
Also Known as | - | Lumix DMC-TZ40 |
Type | Small Sensor Compact | Small Sensor Superzoom |
Released | 2009-08-19 | 2013-01-07 |
Physical type | Compact | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Chip | Digic 4 | - |
Sensor type | CCD | CMOS |
Sensor size | 1/2.5" | 1/2.3" |
Sensor measurements | 5.744 x 4.308mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor surface area | 24.7mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 10 megapixel | 18 megapixel |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 and 3:2 | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Peak resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4896 x 3672 |
Highest native ISO | 1600 | 6400 |
Min native ISO | 80 | 100 |
RAW support | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Autofocus touch | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detection autofocus | ||
Contract detection autofocus | ||
Phase detection autofocus | ||
Number of focus points | - | 23 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount | fixed lens | fixed lens |
Lens focal range | 36-360mm (10.0x) | 24-480mm (20.0x) |
Max aperture | f/2.8-4.3 | f/3.3-6.4 |
Macro focus distance | 1cm | 3cm |
Focal length multiplier | 6.3 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Type of screen | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Screen diagonal | 3" | 3" |
Screen resolution | 230k dots | 920k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch functionality | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | None | None |
Features | ||
Min shutter speed | 15 secs | 15 secs |
Max shutter speed | 1/2500 secs | 1/1200 secs |
Continuous shutter rate | 1.0 frames per sec | 10.0 frames per sec |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Change white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash range | 3.00 m | 6.40 m |
Flash modes | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Fill-in | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro |
Hot shoe | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Max flash synchronize | 1/500 secs | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps), 160 x 120 (15 fps) | 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (220 fps) |
Highest video resolution | 640x480 | 1920x1080 |
Video data format | Motion JPEG | MPEG-4, AVCHD |
Microphone port | ||
Headphone port | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Built-In |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | BuiltIn |
Physical | ||
Environmental sealing | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 285 gr (0.63 lbs) | 198 gr (0.44 lbs) |
Dimensions | 111 x 71 x 45mm (4.4" x 2.8" x 1.8") | 105 x 59 x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light score | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 260 pictures |
Battery type | - | Battery Pack |
Battery model | 2 x AA | - |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 10 sec, Custom) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse feature | ||
Type of storage | SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Card slots | 1 | 1 |
Launch cost | $249 | $250 |