Panasonic L10 vs Sony HX80

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Panasonic L10 and Sony HX80, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the L10 (10MP) and HX80 (18MP) and the L10 (Four Thirds) and HX80 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The L10 was announced 9 years before the HX80 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic L10 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony HX80 being a Compact camera.

Before delving into a detailed comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the L10 grades against the HX80 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic L10 Gallery and Sony HX80 Gallery.

If you are intending to carry your camera regularly, you will have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic L10 comes with physical dimensions of 135mm x 96mm x 78mm (5.3" x 3.8" x 3.1") accompanied by a weight of 556 grams (1.23 lbs) while the Sony HX80 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") along with a weight of 245 grams (0.54 lbs).

Examine the Panasonic L10 and Sony HX80 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are employing at the time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the L10 compared to the HX80.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the L10 and HX80 is 66 and 91 respectively.

Generally, its tough to visualise the contrast between sensor sizing merely by reading through specs. The graphic here should offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the L10 and HX80.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The L10 using its bigger sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field less difficult and the Sony HX80 will resolve greater detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots way more aggressively. The older L10 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.