Panasonic S3 vs Sony RX100 II

Let's look a little more in depth at the Panasonic S3 and Sony RX100 II, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There is a noticeable difference among the sensor resolutions of the S3 (14MP) and RX100 II (20MP) and the S3 (1/2.3") and RX100 II (1") use different sensor size.

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The S3 was brought out 3 years prior to the RX100 II and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 II being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving through a thorough comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the S3 grades versus the RX100 II in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic S3 Gallery & Sony RX100 II Gallery.

If you're intending to carry your camera regularly, you have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic S3 offers external dimensions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs) and the Sony RX100 II has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 38mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 281 grams (0.62 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic S3 and Sony RX100 II in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have chosen at that time. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the S3 compared to the RX100 II.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the S3 and RX100 II is 96 and 89 respectively.

Usually, its hard to imagine the contrast in sensor sizing purely by looking through a spec sheet. The visual below will provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the S3 and RX100 II.

Clearly, each of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The S3 featuring a smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony RX100 II will provide you with extra detail having its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older S3 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.