Panasonic LX5 vs Panasonic ZS40

The following is a extensive comparison of the Panasonic LX5 vs Panasonic ZS40, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are created by Panasonic. There exists a big gap between the image resolutions of the LX5 (10MP) and ZS40 (18MP) and the LX5 (1/1.63") and ZS40 (1/2.3") have different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The LX5 was brought out 3 years earlier than the ZS40 which is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have the same body design (Compact).

Before getting right into a thorough comparison, here is a concise view of how the LX5 matches up against the ZS40 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic LX5 Gallery and Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

When you are looking to travel with your camera often, you have to think about its weight and proportions. The Panasonic LX5 comes with exterior measurements of 110mm x 65mm x 43mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) whilst the Panasonic ZS40 has measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic LX5 vs Panasonic ZS40 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the LX5 vs the ZS40.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the LX5 and ZS40 is 88 and 90 respectively.

Typically, it is very hard to visualize the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by looking at specifications. The pic here will help give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the LX5 and ZS40.

Plainly, each of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The LX5 because of its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic ZS40 will resolve greater detail having its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will let you crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more aged LX5 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.