Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony A580

Let's examine more in depth at the Panasonic ZR1 and Sony A580, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the ZR1 (12MP) and A580 (16MP) and the ZR1 (1/2.3") and A580 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor measurements.

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The ZR1 was revealed 22 months before the A580 making the cameras a generation away from one another. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZR1 being a Compact camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight into a thorough comparison, below is a brief view of how the ZR1 grades against the A580 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A580. The full galleries are available at Panasonic ZR1 Gallery & Sony A580 Gallery.

If you are looking to travel with your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic ZR1 offers outside dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") having a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Sony A580 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

See the Panasonic ZR1 and Sony A580 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the ZR1 versus the A580.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the ZR1 and A580 is 94 and 64 respectively.

Quite often, its hard to envision the contrast in sensor dimensions just by viewing a spec sheet. The image underneath should give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZR1 and A580.

As you can see, both of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The ZR1 using its smaller sensor will make shooting bokeh more challenging and the Sony A580 will provide you with greater detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged ZR1 will be behind in sensor technology.