Panasonic ZS80 vs Sony NEX-5

Let's take a deeper look at the Panasonic ZS80 and Sony NEX-5, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Panasonic and Sony. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the ZS80 (20MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the ZS80 (1/2.3") and NEX-5 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The ZS80 was introduced 7 years later than the NEX-5 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic ZS80 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go through a thorough comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the ZS80 matches up vs the NEX-5 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80 & Sony Alpha NEX-5. The whole galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS80 Gallery & Sony NEX-5 Gallery.

When you are aiming to carry your camera regularly, you'll have to think about its weight and volume. 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) while the Sony NEX-5 has sizing of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") and a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Examine the Panasonic ZS80 and Sony NEX-5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you use at that moment. The following is the front view dimensions comparison of the ZS80 vs the NEX-5.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZS80 and NEX-5 is 86 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, it can be tough to visualise the difference in sensor sizing only by looking through specs. The graphic here will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS80 and NEX-5.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The ZS80 with its smaller sensor will make shooting shallow DOF harder and the Panasonic ZS80 will render more detail using its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures far more aggressively. The more modern ZS80 will have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.