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Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II

Portability
94
Imaging
35
Features
17
Overall
27
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II front
Portability
58
Imaging
52
Features
77
Overall
62

Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II Key Specs

Panasonic ZR1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-200mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 158g - 98 x 55 x 26mm
  • Revealed July 2009
  • Also referred to as Lumix DMC-ZX1
Sony RX10 II
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Expand to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Revealed June 2015
  • Earlier Model is Sony RX10
  • New Model is Sony RX10 III
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Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II Overview

Here, we are evaluating the Panasonic ZR1 and Sony RX10 II, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There is a sizeable difference between the image resolutions of the ZR1 (12MP) and RX10 II (20MP) and the ZR1 (1/2.3") and RX10 II (1") provide different sensor sizes.

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The ZR1 was introduced 6 years earlier than the RX10 II and that is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZR1 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX10 II being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going into a full comparison, here is a short summary of how the ZR1 scores vs the RX10 II with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Panasonic ZR1 over the Sony RX10 II

 ZR1 RX10 II 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 II over the Panasonic ZR1

 RX10 II ZR1 
RevealedJune 2015July 2009More recent by 71 months
Manually focus Very exact focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display size3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution1229k230kCrisper display (+999k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic ZR1 and Sony RX10 II

 ZR1 RX10 II 
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch display No Touch display

Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II Physical Comparison

When you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to factor its weight and proportions. 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) whilst the Sony RX10 II has measurements of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") along with a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZR1 and Sony RX10 II in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you select at the time. Underneath is a front view dimensions comparison of the ZR1 against the RX10 II.

Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the ZR1 and RX10 II is 94 and 58 respectively.

Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II top view buttons comparison

Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II Sensor Comparison

Usually, it can be hard to visualize the contrast between sensor measurements just by going over technical specs. The graphic below should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the ZR1 and RX10 II.

As you can tell, both cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The ZR1 with its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Sony RX10 II will deliver greater detail using its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images a good deal more aggressively. The older ZR1 is going to be behind in sensor technology.

Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II sensor size comparison

Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Panasonic ZR1
Portrait photography with Sony RX10 II
21
focusing manually not possible
manual mode not possible
can't use external flash
MP count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
71
focusing manually
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
has face detect focusing
supports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic ZR1
Street photography with Sony RX10 II
56
has image stabilization (Optical)
screen is fixed
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
72
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Optical)
nice sensor size (1")
supports RAW files
weather sealing
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic ZR1 as a Sports photography camera
Sony RX10 II as a Sports photography camera
25
has image stabilization (Optical)
very slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
MP count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
68
silent shutter (1/32,000s)
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
has tracking focus
weather sealing
lacks phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic ZR1 Travel photography factors
Sony RX10 II Travel photography factors
57
built-in flash
pretty wide (25mm)
missing Timelapse mode
MP count low (12MP)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
56
weather sealing
MP count decent (20MP)
has built in flash
rather wide (24mm)
doesn't have Timelapse function
does not feature selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic ZR1 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony RX10 II as a Landscape photography camera
32
pretty wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
focusing manually not possible
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
screen is small (2.7 inch)
manual mode not possible
MP count low (12MP)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
no RAW files
missing Timelapse mode
62
focusing manually
rather wide (24mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
nice sensor size (1")
supports RAW files
weather sealing
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
doesn't have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic ZR1 Vlogging information
Sony RX10 II Vlogging information
28
pretty wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 resolution)
missing microphone jack
31
rather wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focusing
high res video (3840 x 2160 resolution)
includes microphone jack
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
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Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic ZR1 and Sony RX10 II
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
General Information
Manufacturer Panasonic Sony
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
Otherwise known as Lumix DMC-ZX1 -
Type Small Sensor Compact Large Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2009-07-27 2015-06-10
Body design Compact SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Venus Engine V Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor measurements 6.08 x 4.56mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4000 x 3000 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 6400 12800
Max enhanced ISO - 25600
Min native ISO 80 125
RAW data
Min enhanced ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 11 25
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-200mm (8.0x) 24-200mm (8.3x)
Max aperture f/3.3-5.9 f/2.8
Macro focus range 3cm 3cm
Crop factor 5.9 2.7
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 2.7 inches 3 inches
Screen resolution 230 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/2000 secs
Max silent shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 2.0 frames/s 14.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 5.10 m 10.20 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 158 gr (0.35 pounds) 813 gr (1.79 pounds)
Physical dimensions 98 x 55 x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 70
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.0
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.6
DXO Low light score not tested 531
Other
Battery life - 400 pictures
Battery format - Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC card, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at release $280 $998