Panasonic GX1 vs Panasonic ZS50

Following is a thorough assessment of the Panasonic GX1 vs Panasonic ZS50, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both sold by Panasonic. There exists a sizeable gap among the resolutions of the GX1 (16MP) and ZS50 (12MP) and the GX1 (Four Thirds) and ZS50 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The GX1 was manufactured 3 years before the ZS50 which is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic GX1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS50 being a Compact camera.

Before getting in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick overview of how the GX1 scores vs the ZS50 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic GX1 Gallery and Panasonic ZS50 Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry around your camera often, you should think about its weight and size. The Panasonic GX1 features external dimensions of 116mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") with a weight of 318 grams (0.70 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS50 has specifications of 111mm x 65mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3") along with a weight of 243 grams (0.54 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic GX1 vs Panasonic ZS50 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have at that moment. Following is the front view size comparison of the GX1 vs the ZS50.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the GX1 and ZS50 is 87 and 90 respectively.

Typically, its tough to visualise the contrast in sensor sizes merely by looking through technical specs. The pic here will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the GX1 and ZS50.

As you can tell, both the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The GX1 featuring a larger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Panasonic GX1 will render greater detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged GX1 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.