Nikon S6500 vs Panasonic ZR1

Below is a thorough review of the Nikon S6500 vs Panasonic ZR1, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Nikon and Panasonic. There is a large difference among the image resolutions of the S6500 (16MP) and ZR1 (12MP) but they use the exact same sensor measurements (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The S6500 was unveiled 3 years later than the ZR1 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).

Before going through a complete comparison, below is a simple overview of how the S6500 scores vs the ZR1 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Nikon Coolpix S6500 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1. The full galleries are provided at Nikon S6500 Gallery & Panasonic ZR1 Gallery.

If you're looking to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to factor its weight and measurements. The Nikon S6500 offers outer measurements of 95mm x 58mm x 26mm (3.7" x 2.3" x 1.0") with a weight of 250 grams (0.55 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZR1 has proportions of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") with a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs).

Contrast the Nikon S6500 vs Panasonic ZR1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you select at the time. Following is the front view dimensions comparison of the S6500 compared to the ZR1.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the S6500 and ZR1 is 92 and 94 respectively.

Often, it is very tough to visualise the difference in sensor measurements simply by viewing technical specs. The photograph underneath will help offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the S6500 and ZR1.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras have got the exact same sensor measurements albeit not the same megapixels. You can expect the Nikon S6500 to result in greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots much more aggressively. The fresher S6500 is going to have an advantage in sensor technology.