Panasonic S3 vs Sony A100

Its time to look more closely at the Panasonic S3 vs Sony A100, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Sony. There is a large difference between the image resolutions of the S3 (14MP) and A100 (10MP) and the S3 (1/2.3") and A100 (APS-C) posses different sensor sizing.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The S3 was announced 4 years later than the A100 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera and the Sony A100 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a concise view of how the S3 grades vs the A100 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A100. The whole galleries are provided at Panasonic S3 Gallery & Sony A100 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera, you should take into account its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic S3 enjoys physical dimensions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") and a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs) while the Sony A100 has dimensions of 133mm x 95mm x 71mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 2.8") having a weight of 638 grams (1.41 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic S3 vs Sony A100 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have chosen at the time. The following is a front view size comparison of the S3 against the A100.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the S3 and A100 is 96 and 64 respectively.

In many cases, it's hard to visualize the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading through technical specs. The photograph here will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the S3 and A100.

As you can tell, each of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The S3 having a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Panasonic S3 will give you extra detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The more modern S3 provides a benefit with regard to sensor technology.