Leica D-LUX 5 vs Panasonic ZS40

Let's take a closer look at the Leica D-LUX 5 versus Panasonic ZS40, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Leica and Panasonic. There exists a significant gap between the image resolutions of the D-LUX 5 (10MP) and ZS40 (18MP) and the D-LUX 5 (1/1.63") and ZS40 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor sizes.

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The D-LUX 5 was brought out 4 years prior to the ZS40 which is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before going through a thorough comparison, below is a short highlight of how the D-LUX 5 grades vs the ZS40 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Leica D-LUX 5 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The entire galleries are available at Leica D-LUX 5 Gallery and Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

For those who are going to travel with your camera regularly, you should factor its weight and size. The Leica D-LUX 5 has outside dimensions of 110mm x 66mm x 43mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.7") along with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS40 has specifications of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Look at the Leica D-LUX 5 versus Panasonic ZS40 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have attached at that time. The following is the front view overall size comparison of the D-LUX 5 vs the ZS40.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the D-LUX 5 and ZS40 is 88 and 90 respectively.

Normally, it can be difficult to see the gap between sensor dimensions purely by reading through a spec sheet. The image below will offer you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the D-LUX 5 and ZS40.

As you can see, the two cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The D-LUX 5 due to its larger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF simpler and the Panasonic ZS40 will give greater detail having its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged D-LUX 5 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.