Panasonic ZS80 vs Sony A380

Let's look more in depth at the Panasonic ZS80 and Sony A380, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Sony. There is a crucial difference among the image resolutions of the ZS80 (20MP) and A380 (14MP) and the ZS80 (1/2.3") and A380 (APS-C) have totally different sensor sizing.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The ZS80 was introduced 8 years later than the A380 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS80 being a Compact camera and the Sony A380 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the ZS80 grades vs the A380 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A380. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic ZS80 Gallery and Sony A380 Gallery.

In case you're intending to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to factor in its weight and size. The Panasonic ZS80 features external measurements of 112mm x 69mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7") and a weight of 327 grams (0.72 lbs) while the Sony A380 has specifications of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 519 grams (1.14 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic ZS80 and Sony A380 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are using at that moment. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the ZS80 vs the A380.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the ZS80 and A380 is 86 and 68 respectively.

Oftentimes, its hard to visualise the difference in sensor measurements purely by going through specs. The graphic here may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the ZS80 and A380.

All in all, both of these cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The ZS80 with its smaller sensor will make getting shallow depth of field tougher and the Panasonic ZS80 will provide extra detail using its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures more aggressively. The younger ZS80 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.