Panasonic ZR1 vs Ricoh WG-5 GPS

Let's look much closer at the Panasonic ZR1 versus Ricoh WG-5 GPS, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Waterproof by competitors Panasonic and Ricoh. There exists a crucial gap among the sensor resolutions of the ZR1 (12MP) and WG-5 GPS (16MP) but both cameras have the same sensor measurements (1/2.3").

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The ZR1 was brought out 6 years earlier than the WG-5 GPS and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have the same body design (Compact).

Before delving right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the ZR1 matches up versus the WG-5 GPS in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 and Ricoh WG-5 GPS. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic ZR1 Gallery and Ricoh WG-5 GPS Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to carry your camera often, you are going to need to think about its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZR1 features external measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") along with a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) and the Ricoh WG-5 GPS has sizing of 125mm x 65mm x 32mm (4.9" x 2.6" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 236 grams (0.52 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic ZR1 versus Ricoh WG-5 GPS in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you use at that time. Following is a front view dimension comparison of the ZR1 and the WG-5 GPS.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZR1 and WG-5 GPS is 94 and 90 respectively.

Typically, its hard to imagine the gap in sensor sizing just by looking through a spec sheet. The visual underneath will help offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the ZR1 and WG-5 GPS.

As you can see, both of those cameras have the same sensor dimensions albeit different MP. You should expect the Ricoh WG-5 GPS to result in extra detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older ZR1 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.