Panasonic L1 vs Panasonic ZS45

Below, we are reviewing the Panasonic L1 and Panasonic ZS45, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are offered by Panasonic. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the L1 (7MP) and ZS45 (16MP) and the L1 (Four Thirds) and ZS45 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

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The L1 was manufactured 8 years earlier than the ZS45 and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic L1 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera.

Before going in to a complete comparison, below is a simple summation of how the L1 matches up against the ZS45 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45. The entire galleries are viewable at Panasonic L1 Gallery and Panasonic ZS45 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera, you'll need to think about its weight and volume. The Panasonic L1 provides physical dimensions of 146mm x 87mm x 77mm (5.7" x 3.4" x 3.0") along with a weight of 606 grams (1.34 lbs) while the Panasonic ZS45 has sizing of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs).

Examine the Panasonic L1 and Panasonic ZS45 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have at that time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the L1 compared to the ZS45.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the L1 and ZS45 is 65 and 91 respectively.

Quite often, it is difficult to visualise the contrast between sensor measurements only by going over specs. The visual underneath might offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the L1 and ZS45.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The L1 because of its larger sensor will make shooting bokeh simpler and the Panasonic ZS45 will offer you greater detail due to its extra 9 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older L1 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.