Panasonic ZR3 vs Sony W830

Let's look more in depth at the Panasonic ZR3 versus Sony W830, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Ultracompact by manufacturers Panasonic and Sony. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the ZR3 (14MP) and W830 (20MP) but both cameras offer the same sensor sizes (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The ZR3 was unveiled 5 years earlier than the W830 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZR3 being a Compact camera and the Sony W830 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before delving right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a short overview of how the ZR3 matches up versus the W830 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830. The full galleries are provided at Panasonic ZR3 Gallery & Sony W830 Gallery.

If you are looking to travel with your camera, you need to factor in its weight and size. The Panasonic ZR3 offers exterior measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") with a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Sony W830 has specifications of 93mm x 52mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") along with a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic ZR3 versus Sony W830 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the ZR3 and the W830.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZR3 and W830 is 94 and 96 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to imagine the difference in sensor dimensions merely by looking through technical specs. The image below might give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the ZR3 and W830.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have the same sensor dimensions albeit different megapixels. You can expect the Sony W830 to result in greater detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more aged ZR3 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.