Panasonic ZR3 vs Sony A850

Let's look a little more closely at the Panasonic ZR3 vs Sony A850, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Advanced DSLR by brands Panasonic and Sony. There exists a large gap between the sensor resolutions of the ZR3 (14MP) and A850 (25MP) and the ZR3 (1/2.3") and A850 (Full frame) have different sensor size.

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The ZR3 was introduced 2 months earlier than the A850 and they are of a similar age. The two cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZR3 being a Compact camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight to a detailed comparison, here is a brief summation of how the ZR3 grades vs the A850 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic ZR3 Gallery & Sony A850 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to travel with your camera, you'll need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic ZR3 provides external dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") along with a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst the Sony A850 has dimensions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") and a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic ZR3 vs Sony A850 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the ZR3 against the A850.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZR3 and A850 is 94 and 54 respectively.

More often than not, it is hard to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions merely by checking specs. The pic underneath should offer you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZR3 and A850.

All in all, both the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The ZR3 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Sony A850 will give you more detail using its extra 11 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos a bit more aggressively.