Panasonic ZR1 vs Sony RX10 II

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.

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing

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.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic ZR1 Gallery and Sony RX10 II Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.