Panasonic ZS20 vs Sony A230

Below is a extensive assessment of the Panasonic ZS20 and Sony A230, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There is a sizable difference between the resolutions of the ZS20 (14MP) and A230 (10MP) and the ZS20 (1/2.3") and A230 (APS-C) use different sensor measurements.

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The ZS20 was revealed 2 years later than the A230 and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZS20 being a Compact camera and the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving through a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the ZS20 grades vs the A230 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. The full galleries are viewable at Panasonic ZS20 Gallery & Sony A230 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera regularly, you'll need to think about its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZS20 provides external dimensions of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") along with a weight of 206 grams (0.45 lbs) whilst the Sony A230 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs).

Check the Panasonic ZS20 and Sony A230 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you use at the time. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the ZS20 against the A230.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the ZS20 and A230 is 92 and 69 respectively.

Generally, it's hard to picture the gap between sensor measurements merely by reading through technical specs. The graphic here will offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS20 and A230.

As you have seen, both of those cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The ZS20 using its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Panasonic ZS20 will give you more detail because of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more recent ZS20 should have an advantage with regard to sensor innovation.