Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony H200

The following is a thorough assessment of the Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony H200, both Small Sensor Superzoom digital cameras by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the image resolutions of the ZS1 (10MP) and H200 (20MP) and the ZS1 (1/2.5") and H200 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The ZS1 was launched 4 years before the H200 which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZS1 being a Compact camera and the Sony H200 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a simple view of how the ZS1 grades versus the H200 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H200. The complete galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS1 Gallery and Sony H200 Gallery.

When you are going to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS1 offers external dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Sony H200 has measurements of 123mm x 83mm x 87mm (4.8" x 3.3" x 3.4") accompanied by a weight of 530 grams (1.17 lbs).

See the Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony H200 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you choose at the time. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the ZS1 vs the H200.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the ZS1 and H200 is 91 and 67 respectively.

Oftentimes, its hard to see the contrast between sensor dimensions merely by reading specifications. The picture below might offer you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS1 and H200.

To sum up, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The ZS1 because of its tinier sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sony H200 will offer you extra detail utilizing its extra 10MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged ZS1 is going to be behind in sensor tech.