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Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V

Portability
91
Imaging
33
Features
25
Overall
29
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V front
Portability
62
Imaging
45
Features
60
Overall
51

Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V Key Specs

Panasonic ZS1
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.5" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 25-300mm (F3.3-4.9) lens
  • 229g - 103 x 60 x 33mm
  • Launched May 2009
  • Also referred to as Lumix DMC-TZ6
Sony HX400V
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 80 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-1200mm (F2.8-6.3) lens
  • 660g - 130 x 93 x 103mm
  • Revealed February 2014
  • Older Model is Sony HX300
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Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V Overview

Here is a comprehensive review of the Panasonic ZS1 and Sony HX400V, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There exists a big gap among the image resolutions of the ZS1 (10MP) and HX400V (20MP) and the ZS1 (1/2.5") and HX400V (1/2.3") offer different sensor sizing.

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The ZS1 was manufactured 5 years prior to the HX400V and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS1 being a Compact camera and the Sony HX400V being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise summary of how the ZS1 scores versus the HX400V when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS1 over the Sony HX400V

 ZS1 HX400V 

Reasons to pick Sony HX400V over the Panasonic ZS1

 HX400V ZS1 
RevealedFebruary 2014May 2009Fresher by 57 months
Manually focus Very precise focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen size3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution921k230kCrisper screen (+691k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic ZS1 and Sony HX400V

 ZS1 HX400V 
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither features Touch friendly screen

Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V Physical Comparison

If you're looking to carry your camera frequently, you'll need to factor its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZS1 enjoys outside dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Sony HX400V has sizing of 130mm x 93mm x 103mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.1") having a weight of 660 grams (1.46 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic ZS1 and Sony HX400V in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you select at that moment. Here is a front view physical size comparison of the ZS1 versus the HX400V.

Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS1 and HX400V is 91 and 62 respectively.

Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V top view buttons comparison

Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is very tough to imagine the contrast in sensor sizing purely by going through specs. The graphic here should give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS1 and HX400V.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The ZS1 featuring a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony HX400V will provide greater detail due to its extra 10MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The older ZS1 will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V sensor size comparison

Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic ZS1 Portrait photography factors
Sony HX400V Portrait photography factors
25
has face detect focus
no manual focus
manual mode not possible
no external flash support
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.5")
does not have RAW format
51
focusing manually
decent megapixels (20MP)
features face detect focusing
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Panasonic ZS1 Street photography advice
Sony HX400V Street photography advice
60
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition (229 grams)
no articulating screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.5")
does not have RAW format
50
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
heavier than competitors (660 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic ZS1 Sports photography highlights
Sony HX400V Sports photography highlights
24
built in image stabilization (Optical)
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority
megapixel count low (10MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.5")
does not have phase detect auto focus
55
amazing zoom range (24-1200mm 50.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
features tracking focus
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic ZS1 Travel photography advice
Sony HX400V Travel photography advice
63
lighter than competition (229 grams)
built-in flash
quite wide (25mm)
long reach (300mm)
lack of Time Lapse recording
megapixel count low (10MP)
does not contain selfie friendly display
slow max aperture (f3.3)
53
decent megapixels (20MP)
has built in flash
rather wide (24mm)
great zoom (1200mm)
no Time Lapse mode
heavier than competitors (660 grams)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic ZS1 Landscape photography factors
Sony HX400V Landscape photography factors
31
quite wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
no manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
screen is somewhat small (2.7")
manual mode not possible
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.5")
does not have RAW format
lack of Time Lapse recording
49
focusing manually
rather wide (24mm)
screen size is decent (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
cannot change lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
no Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic ZS1 Vlogging features
Sony HX400V Vlogging features
31
quite wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focus
lighter than competition (229 grams)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
does not contain selfie friendly display
low quality video (640 x 480 pixels)
lack of mic jack
29
rather wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
features face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
has mic jack
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
heavier than competitors (660 grams)
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Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony HX400V Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic ZS1 and Sony HX400V
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V
General Information
Brand Panasonic Sony
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V
Also Known as Lumix DMC-TZ6 -
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2009-05-14 2014-02-12
Body design Compact SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.5" 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 5.744 x 4.308mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 24.7mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 3648 x 2736 5184 x 3888
Highest native ISO 6400 12800
Minimum native ISO 100 80
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 11 9
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-300mm (12.0x) 24-1200mm (50.0x)
Largest aperture f/3.3-4.9 f/2.8-6.3
Macro focus distance 3cm 1cm
Crop factor 6.3 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen diagonal 2.7 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 230 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter speed 3.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 5.30 m (Auto ISO) 8.50 m (ISO Auto)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync Flash Off / Autoflash / Fill-flash / Slow Sync. / Advanced Flash / Rear Sync. / Wireless (with optional compliant flash)
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Highest video resolution 640x480 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 229g (0.50 lb) 660g (1.46 lb)
Physical dimensions 103 x 60 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") 130 x 93 x 103mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 300 pictures
Battery format - Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, portrait)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/MMC/SDHC card, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Launch pricing $0 $448