Panasonic ZS1 vs Sony A55

On this page, we are evaluating the Panasonic ZS1 and Sony A55, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There exists a crucial gap between the sensor resolutions of the ZS1 (10MP) and A55 (16MP) and the ZS1 (1/2.5") and A55 (APS-C) have different sensor sizes.

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The ZS1 was launched 15 months prior to the A55 making them a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS1 being a Compact camera and the Sony A55 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go right into a thorough comparison, here is a short summary of how the ZS1 scores against the A55 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 and Sony SLT-A55. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic ZS1 Gallery and Sony A55 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you need to think about its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS1 offers physical measurements of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs) whilst the Sony A55 has measurements of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic ZS1 and Sony A55 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are working with at the time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the ZS1 versus the A55.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the ZS1 and A55 is 91 and 67 respectively.

Quite often, it's hard to picture the difference between sensor measurements merely by reading through specifications. The visual below might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the ZS1 and A55.

To sum up, each of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The ZS1 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make getting bokeh more challenging and the Sony A55 will give you more detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics more aggressively. The older ZS1 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.