Panasonic ZS200 vs Sony A380

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Panasonic ZS200 versus Sony A380, one being a Large Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Sony. There exists a big gap between the image resolutions of the ZS200 (20MP) and A380 (14MP) and the ZS200 (1") and A380 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizing.

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The ZS200 was manufactured 8 years later than the A380 and that is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZS200 being a Large Sensor Compact camera and the Sony A380 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving in to a thorough comparison, below is a brief summation of how the ZS200 scores versus the A380 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A380. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS200 Gallery and Sony A380 Gallery.

In case you're going to carry your camera often, you'll have to consider its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS200 provides outer dimensions of 111mm x 66mm x 45mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.8") and a weight of 340 grams (0.75 lbs) while the Sony A380 has measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") and a weight of 519 grams (1.14 lbs).

Compare the Panasonic ZS200 versus Sony A380 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Underneath is the front view sizing comparison of the ZS200 vs the A380.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS200 and A380 is 86 and 68 respectively.

Normally, it is very tough to picture the gap between sensor sizing just by looking at specs. The graphic below might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS200 and A380.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The ZS200 because of its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Panasonic ZS200 will give more detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The fresher ZS200 provides an advantage with regard to sensor tech.