Panasonic S1R vs Panasonic ZS45

Let's look more closely at the Panasonic S1R and Panasonic ZS45, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both produced by Panasonic. There is a large difference between the sensor resolutions of the S1R (47MP) and ZS45 (16MP) and the S1R (Full frame) and ZS45 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The S1R was manufactured 4 years after the ZS45 which is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Panasonic S1R being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a short summation of how the S1R scores vs the ZS45 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45. The entire galleries are viewable at Panasonic S1R Gallery & Panasonic ZS45 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to travel with your camera frequently, you'll need to think about its weight and proportions. The Panasonic S1R provides outer dimensions of 149mm x 110mm x 97mm (5.9" x 4.3" x 3.8") accompanied by a weight of 1020 grams (2.25 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS45 has measurements of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

See the Panasonic S1R and Panasonic ZS45 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have during that time. Underneath is a front view dimensions comparison of the S1R versus the ZS45.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the S1R and ZS45 is 54 and 91 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's hard to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions merely by reading through technical specs. The image here will offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the S1R and ZS45.

As you have seen, each of these cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The S1R because of its larger sensor will make getting shallower DOF simpler and the Panasonic S1R will resolve greater detail due to its extra 31 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The younger S1R will have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.