Panasonic GX850 vs Panasonic ZS40

Below is a extensive overview of the Panasonic GX850 and Panasonic ZS40, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both sold by Panasonic. The image resolution of the GX850 (16MP) and the ZS40 (18MP) is relatively close but the GX850 (Four Thirds) and ZS40 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor sizes.

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The GX850 was launched 3 years later than the ZS40 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic GX850 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise summary of how the GX850 scores against the ZS40 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The complete galleries are viewable at Panasonic GX850 Gallery & Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

If you're intending to lug around your camera, you're going to have to take into account its weight and size. The Panasonic GX850 has got outer dimensions of 107mm x 65mm x 33mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.3") and a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS40 has specifications of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") along with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

See the Panasonic GX850 and Panasonic ZS40 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have attached at the time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the GX850 and the ZS40.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the GX850 and ZS40 is 90 and 90 respectively.

More often than not, it's tough to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements only by looking through a spec sheet. The graphic below should offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the GX850 and ZS40.

As you can see, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The GX850 because of its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic ZS40 will render greater detail utilizing its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The younger GX850 should have an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.