Panasonic ZS40 vs Sony A200

Its time to look closer at the Panasonic ZS40 vs Sony A200, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the ZS40 (18MP) and A200 (10MP) and the ZS40 (1/2.3") and A200 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor dimensions.

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The ZS40 was released 5 years after the A200 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera and the Sony A200 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go in to a complete comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the ZS40 matches up versus the A200 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A200. The complete galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS40 Gallery & Sony A200 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to carry around your camera regularly, you will need to factor its weight and measurements. The Panasonic ZS40 comes with outside measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs) while the Sony A200 has proportions of 131mm x 99mm x 71mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 2.8") with a weight of 572 grams (1.26 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic ZS40 vs Sony A200 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Below is the front view sizing comparison of the ZS40 compared to the A200.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS40 and A200 is 90 and 66 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very hard to visualise the contrast in sensor sizes only by going through a spec sheet. The picture underneath will help offer you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the ZS40 and A200.

As you can see, the 2 cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The ZS40 because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Panasonic ZS40 will show more detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more recent ZS40 will have an advantage in sensor tech.