Panasonic ZS1 vs Panasonic ZS40

Lets take a more detailed look at the Panasonic ZS1 and Panasonic ZS40, both Small Sensor Superzoom digital cameras and both of them are built by Panasonic. There is a crucial difference between the image resolutions of the ZS1 (10MP) and ZS40 (18MP) and the ZS1 (1/2.5") and ZS40 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizing.

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The ZS1 was unveiled 5 years before the ZS40 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras have the same body design (Compact).

Before we go right into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise overview of how the ZS1 grades vs the ZS40 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40. The full galleries are viewable at Panasonic ZS1 Gallery and Panasonic ZS40 Gallery.

For those who are planning to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS1 enjoys external measurements of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Panasonic ZS40 has measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") along with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic ZS1 and Panasonic ZS40 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you choose at the time. Following is a front view dimension comparison of the ZS1 versus the ZS40.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the ZS1 and ZS40 is 91 and 90 respectively.

Usually, it's tough to picture the difference between sensor measurements only by reading technical specs. The visual below should provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the ZS1 and ZS40.

As you can tell, each of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The ZS1 using its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF harder and the Panasonic ZS40 will offer greater detail having an extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older ZS1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.