Panasonic ZS30 vs Sony A500

The following is a thorough overview of the Panasonic ZS30 vs Sony A500, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the ZS30 (18MP) and A500 (12MP) and the ZS30 (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor sizes.

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The ZS30 was launched 3 years after the A500 which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS30 being a Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick overview of how the ZS30 matches up vs the A500 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS30 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic ZS30 Gallery and Sony A500 Gallery.

For those who are planning to travel with your camera regularly, you'll have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Panasonic ZS30 offers outside dimensions of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs) and the Sony A500 has proportions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZS30 vs Sony A500 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the ZS30 vs the A500.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the ZS30 and A500 is 92 and 63 respectively.

Oftentimes, it can be tough to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions just by going over a spec sheet. The image here might provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS30 and A500.

Clearly, both of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The ZS30 featuring a tinier sensor will make achieving shallow DOF trickier and the Panasonic ZS30 will offer more detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop photos way more aggressively. The more modern ZS30 is going to have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.