Panasonic SZ10 vs Sony HX400V: A Hands-On Comparison for Enthusiasts and Professionals

Choosing the right small sensor superzoom camera can be a bit like walking into a candy store - so many tempting options but with varied capabilities and quirks. Today, I’m diving deep into two cameras that have caught the eye of enthusiasts looking for compact travel-friendly shooters with expansive zoom ranges: the Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ10 and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V. These aren’t your hefty DSLRs or mirrorless powerhouses, but rather compact and bridge-style cameras offering versatile zoom potential. Having spent weeks testing both, I’ll walk you through how they stack up across disciplines, practical use cases, and technical metrics, peppered with hands-on observations.

Let’s start by comparing their physical presence because, as you know, how a camera feels in hand matters more than specs in isolation.

When Size and Handling Matter: How Do They Feel?

The Panasonic SZ10 is a compact little camera, clearly designed for grab-and-go convenience. At 99x60x30 mm and weighing just 177 grams, it slips into jacket pockets and small bags easily. If discretion and portability are your priorities, the SZ10 wins hands down. Its rounded edges and flat body make it non-intimidating for beginners or casual enthusiasts who dislike bulky gear.

In contrast, the Sony HX400V is a bona fide bridge camera with an SLR-style body. It measures 130x93x103 mm and tips the scales at 660 grams - substantial in this category. The heft comes with advantages: a prominent handgrip that offers excellent stability and a traditional control layout that feels familiar to DSLR shooters. If you appreciate a more tactile shooting experience with dedicated dials and buttons, Sony’s approach makes more sense.

Ergonomically, I found the Sony easier to hold steady for extended periods, especially when tracking fast-moving subjects. The Panasonic, while pocketable, sometimes felt too light for the weight of its lens zooming out to 288mm equivalent; a little hand fatigue or shake could creep in.

Design and Control Layout: Which Interface Streamlines Your Workflow?

Both cameras have a 3-inch tilting screen - a boon for creative angles and selfies (well, sort of; neither is selfie-focused but the tilt helps with waist-level shooting). The Panasonic’s 460k-dot resolution LCD pales compared to the Sony’s crisp 921k-dot display. Details and menu text are noticeably sharper on the HX400V, which reduces eye strain during extended reviews or magnified focus checking.

Sony offers an Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) with 100% coverage, while the Panasonic has none. The presence of the EVF provides huge advantage in bright sunlight and for composing precisely, especially for professionals used to eye-level framing.

Control-wise, Sony packs an array of customizable buttons, a top dial for exposure modes (including shutter and aperture priority), and a joystick for fine AF point adjustments. Panasonic is more minimalistic with fewer physical controls and no manual exposure modes - only Program mode with limited manual override options. For those who relish tweaking settings on the fly, Sony wins again.

Peeking Under the Hood: Sensor Specs and Image Quality

Both cameras share a small 1/2.3-inch sensor platform, with subtle differences:

The Sony’s BSI-CMOS sensor is by design more sensitive to light than Panasonic’s CCD sensor, which is a somewhat older technology. This translates into better low-light performance and less noise at high ISOs. In my tests, the HX400V retained more detail and cleaner shadows at ISO 800 and above compared to the SZ10, which became noticeably grainy past ISO 400.

The difference in maximum aperture ranges (F2.8-6.3 for Sony vs F3.1-6.3 for Panasonic) at their respective widest focal lengths gives Sony a slight edge in gathering more light at the wide end, beneficial for indoor and evening shooting.

Live View Experience and Screen Usability

Sony’s higher resolution screen and the addition of the EVF create an advantage for composition and reviewing images, particularly when outdoors under harsh sunlight. The Panasonic’s screen is adequate indoors or in shadow but struggles under bright conditions with reflections.

The tilting screen mechanism on both is similar, enabling shooting from awkward angles, but neither offers touch functionality - a missed chance in 2015-2016 era where touchscreen responsiveness helps quick setting changes or AF point shifting.

Image Quality in Real Life: Sample Gallery and Detail Insight

Panasonic SZ10 front Panasonic SZ10 screen back Sony HX400V front Sony HX400V screen back

When you inspect images side-by-side, you're likely to see Sony’s 20MP sensor provides crisper detail and smoother gradations, especially in highlights and shadows. Panasonic’s JPEGs sometimes suffer from contrast clipping and oversharpening artifacts, a common trait in entry-level fixed lens compacts.

Color rendition is broadly similar - both producing pleasant color fidelity with subtle differences in skin tones. Sony leans toward warmer hues, flattering for portraits, whereas Panasonic outputs slightly cooler, accentuating blues and greens, better for landscapes.

The Panasonic struggles with noise and loss of detail at telephoto zoom extremes (approaching 288mm equivalent), while Sony maintains better sharpness despite the monster 50x optical zoom (1200mm equivalent). If telephoto reach is your priority, Sony HX400V is the clear winner.

Burst and Autofocus Performance: Tracking Action and Wildlife

Sony features an impressive 10 fps continuous shooting mode compared to Panasonic’s slow 1.4 fps. For anyone interested in sports, wildlife, or fast-moving subjects, the difference is dramatic. You won’t catch decisive moments shooting with the Panasonic in burst - it’s simply too slow.

Autofocus on Sony benefits from face and eye detection plus tracking modes that hold fast onto subjects with decent reliability. Panasonic includes face detection but lacks continuous AF tracking, meaning subjects can drop out of focus quickly if they move.

This makes Sony the better pick for action photography and wildlife - not just because of speed but also accuracy and focus flexibility.

Portrait Photography: How Do They Handle Skin Tones and Bokeh?

Portraiture is a popular use case for cameras with moderate zoom lenses. Let’s dissect each camera’s approach.

Panasonic’s fixed-lens f/3.1 aperture and 24-288 mm zoom offer decent framing flexibility but can’t deliver very shallow depth of field due to sensor size and lens speed. The bokeh is modest, mostly smooth but not particularly creamy or artistic. Skin tones are natural but occasionally skew toward cooler undertones, possibly needing post-processing tweaks.

Sony’s faster F2.8 lens at wide angle paired with a higher resolution sensor renders more detail and subtly warmer skin tones, enhancing the appeal of portraits. Using longer focal lengths around 100-200mm (equivalent) creates more background separation. While small sensors never produce DSLR-grade bokeh, Sony’s 50x zoom gives you more creative compression options.

Both cameras include face detection AF, but Sony’s is more refined, ensuring sharper eye focus - a subtle but meaningful edge for portraits.

Landscape Photography: Do They Deliver the Dynamic Range?

For landscapes, sensor capability and lens quality are critical. Neither Panasonic nor Sony offers weather sealing, so keep that in mind if shooting in challenging conditions.

Both cameras provide multiple aspect ratios including 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, and 1:1, giving you compositional flexibility. Sony’s 20MP resolution means larger prints and cropping latitude, while Panasonic’s 16MP is decent but less flexible.

Dynamic range measured by skylight and shadow detail favors Sony’s BSI-CMOS sensor. When tested, Sony images retained more highlight and shadow nuances, which you’ll love for dramatic skies and textured terrain.

Both have optical image stabilization but no manual exposure bracketing modes to facilitate HDR shooting, limiting advanced landscape workflows.

Wildlife and Sports: Speed and Reach Tested

The Sony HX400V’s 50x zoom range (24-1200 mm equivalent) obliterates Panasonic’s 12x (24-288 mm). This not only makes HX400V more suited for birding and wildlife photography but also broadens its appeal for safari or distant sports venues.

Continuous shooting speed at 10 fps combined with AF tracking supports capturing fast, erratic movements. Panasonic’s 1.4 fps and limited focusing areas don’t stand a chance in this arena.

You won’t find shutter or aperture priority on Panasonic, making it hard to adapt quickly during fast shoots. Sony delivers those modes along with exposure compensation and manual exposure control - critical for sports photographers.

Street Photography: Discreet or Bulky?

The Panasonic shines here with a slim profile that won’t intimidate or draw unwanted attention. Its quiet mechanical shutter, albeit limited in speed, helps minimize scene disturbance.

Sony’s bigger body and pronounced lens barrel make it more conspicuous. Plus, 660 grams being obvious in a crowded street setting if you’re trying to stay light and nimble.

Both have built-in flashes, but neither supports silent electronic shutter operation, a bummer for stealth shooting.

Macro Capabilities: Close-Up Flexibility and Focus Precision

Sony offers a much closer focusing distance of 1 cm, giving you real macro capabilities for flowers and small subjects. Panasonic’s macro focus range isn’t specified; in practice, it feels less adapted for close work, typically struggling below about 10 cm.

Sony’s continuous AF with selective point focus helps nail critical focus in macro shooting; Panasonic’s limited focus area struggles with precision here.

Night and Astro: High ISO and Long Exposure

Sony’s max native ISO of 12,800 far outshines Panasonic’s 1,600. In real-world low light, this translates into cleaner images, less noise suppression artifacts, and better exposure flexibility.

Sony also pushes shutter speed down to 30 seconds, letting you experiment with long exposures and basic astro shots (think star trails). Panasonic caps at 8 seconds and max 2000 speed for shutter, limiting long exposure potential.

Neither camera shoots RAW, which limits post-processing recovery, especially in challenging lights. However, Sony’s brighter lens and higher ISO boost enable better JPEG quality in night scenes.

Video Shootout: Specs and Practicality

Sony stands out with 1080p video at 60p, 60i, and 24p frame rates - solid for casual videographers seeking smooth motion and cinematic options. It records AVCHD and MPEG-4 formats with external microphone input - crucial for improved sound fidelity.

Panasonic’s video is capped at 720p (HD) at 30p with MJPEG codec, outdated by today’s standards. No microphone port means you’re stuck with onboard audio, often noisy.

Neither offers 4K or advanced video features, so neither is a dedicated video tool, but Sony clearly controls here by a wide margin.

Traveling Light: Versatility, Battery, and Connectivity

When jet-setting, the Panasonic’s tiny form factor and 200-shot battery life mean you can travel minimally but may have to carry spare batteries. USB charging would have been a plus but neither offers it.

Sony’s 300-shot battery life and GPS built-in are travel-friendly features, syncing geo-tagged photos out of the box. Not having Bluetooth is a bit of a miss in a modern travel camera.

Storage-wise, Sony supports multiple card types including Memory Stick variants. Panasonic sticks to SD only.

Professional Considerations: Workflow and Reliability

Neither camera shoots RAW files - a limitation for professionals who rely on RAW for maximum editing flexibility and image quality. Furthermore, neither is built for demanding environments with weather sealing or robust build quality.

Sony’s richer manual controls, higher resolution, better autofocus, and superior zoom range edge it toward hobbyists and occasional pros needing versatility without investing in interchangeable lens systems.

Panasonic’s feature set aligns more with entry-level or casual shooters seeking simplicity.

Overall Performance Ratings and Genre-Specific Scores

A quick glance at scorecards (though neither camera has DxOMark data) reflects the hands-on findings: Sony HX400V leads clearly in speed, autofocus, image quality, and video. Panasonic SZ10 holds some appeal for simplicity, compactness, and affordability.

The Bottom Line: Who Should Buy Which?

Choose Panasonic SZ10 if:

• You want a pocketable, simple camera primarily for casual travel, street, or family snapshots.
• Budget constraints favor the lower price tag (~$200).
• Manual exposure control is not a priority.
• You prefer a straightforward point-and-shoot experience without frills.

Go with Sony HX400V if:

• You want a powerful superzoom with extensive focal reach and manual controls.
• You shoot wildlife, sports, or action needing quick bursts and better AF tracking.
• Video and near-DSLR style handling are important.
• You value GPS tagging and better image quality, especially at higher ISOs.
• You desire a camera that still fits in a backpack but offers many advanced features.

Final Thoughts from My Lab and Field Tests

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ10 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V both target the “small sensor superzoom” niche but serve distinct user types. I appreciated Panasonic’s lightness and approachability, reminded me of a first camera I’d recommend to photographic novices. Yet, on deeper inspection, Sony’s more ambitious feature set and performance pulled ahead by a wide margin in most areas important to enthusiasts, pros, and advanced amateurs.

If you value convenience over power, SZ10 fits the bill. But if you want good image quality, shooting flexibility, and reach, don’t hesitate to invest a little more in the HX400V.

Hope this detailed side-by-side helps you make a confident pick tailored to your shooting style and budget - happy photography!

Note: For an experiential look at handling and image comparisons, see my accompanying video review linked above.

Image Credits

• Physical and ergonomic comparisons, detailed sample shots, and performance charts from hands-on testing sessions between January and March 2024.

If you have specific questions or want me to test an aspect further, drop a comment - I’m here to help unlock the perfect camera for you!