Panasonic LZ30 vs Sony A230

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Panasonic LZ30 and Sony A230, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There is a significant difference between the resolutions of the LZ30 (16MP) and A230 (10MP) and the LZ30 (1/2.3") and A230 (APS-C) enjoy different sensor sizes.

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The LZ30 was announced 3 years later than the A230 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic LZ30 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving straight into a detailed comparison, below is a concise summation of how the LZ30 matches up versus the A230 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ30 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. The whole galleries are provided at Panasonic LZ30 Gallery and Sony A230 Gallery.

If you're planning to lug around your camera regularly, you're going to have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Panasonic LZ30 features external measurements of 124mm x 84mm x 92mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 3.6") with a weight of 552 grams (1.22 lbs) while the Sony A230 has proportions of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") having a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic LZ30 and Sony A230 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 using at the time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the LZ30 and the A230.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the LZ30 and A230 is 66 and 69 respectively.

Generally, its difficult to imagine the gap between sensor measurements simply by going over specifications. The photograph below may provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the LZ30 and A230.

To sum up, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The LZ30 using its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF more challenging and the Panasonic LZ30 will offer you extra detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures far more aggressively. The more recent LZ30 provides a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.