Panasonic ZS80 vs Sony A450

Following is a thorough review of the Panasonic ZS80 and Sony A450, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Sony. There is a sizable difference among the resolutions of the ZS80 (20MP) and A450 (14MP) and the ZS80 (1/2.3") and A450 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The ZS80 was manufactured 8 years after the A450 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS80 being a Compact camera and the Sony A450 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a full comparison, here is a brief introduction of how the ZS80 scores vs the A450 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A450. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS80 Gallery & Sony A450 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to carry around your camera regularly, you are going to need to consider its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic ZS80 offers exterior dimensions of 112mm x 69mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 327 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Sony A450 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.2") and a weight of 560 grams (1.23 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZS80 and Sony A450 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Here is a front view physical size comparison of the ZS80 and the A450.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the ZS80 and A450 is 86 and 65 respectively.

Generally, it can be difficult to visualise the gap in sensor sizes merely by checking out specifications. The picture below might give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS80 and A450.

Plainly, the two cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The ZS80 because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Panasonic ZS80 will produce extra detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more recent ZS80 is going to have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.