Panasonic SZ7 vs Sony HX300

Below is a in-depth assessment of the Panasonic SZ7 and Sony HX300, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by manufacturers Panasonic and Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the image resolutions of the SZ7 (14MP) and HX300 (20MP) but both cameras posses the identical sensor sizing (1/2.3").

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The SZ7 was announced 13 months earlier than the HX300 which makes them a generation apart from one another. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic SZ7 being a Compact camera and the Sony HX300 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before we go into a in-depth comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the SZ7 grades versus the HX300 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic SZ7 Gallery & Sony HX300 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to lug around your camera often, you have to take into account its weight and volume. The Panasonic SZ7 features outer dimensions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 133 grams (0.29 lbs) whilst the Sony HX300 has sizing of 130mm x 103mm x 93mm (5.1" x 4.1" x 3.7") having a weight of 623 grams (1.37 lbs).

Check the Panasonic SZ7 and Sony HX300 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are utilizing at that time. The following is a front view size comparison of the SZ7 vs the HX300.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SZ7 and HX300 is 95 and 63 respectively.

Sometimes, its tough to envision the gap between sensor measurements purely by looking at a spec sheet. The graphic below will help give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ7 and HX300.

As you can see, both the cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit not the same MP. You can count on the Sony HX300 to give you extra detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older SZ7 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.