Panasonic ZS40 vs Sony NEX-5T

Here is a extensive review of the Panasonic ZS40 vs Sony NEX-5T, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Panasonic and Sony. The resolution of the ZS40 (18MP) and the NEX-5T (16MP) is pretty well matched but the ZS40 (1/2.3") and NEX-5T (APS-C) use different sensor measurements.

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The ZS40 was brought out 5 months later than the NEX-5T and they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZS40 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5T being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go in to a in depth comparison, below is a concise summary of how the ZS40 matches up versus the NEX-5T with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 & Sony Alpha NEX-5T. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS40 Gallery & Sony NEX-5T Gallery.

For those who are going to carry your camera often, you're going to have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Panasonic ZS40 features exterior dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-5T has proportions of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") and a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs).

See the Panasonic ZS40 vs Sony NEX-5T in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose during that time. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the ZS40 compared to the NEX-5T.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS40 and NEX-5T is 90 and 89 respectively.

More often than not, it is very tough to visualize the gap between sensor sizing simply by checking a spec sheet. The visual below may give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS40 and NEX-5T.

As you can see, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The ZS40 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Panasonic ZS40 will resolve more detail having its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively.