Panasonic ZS45 vs Sony A500

Following is a complete analysis of the Panasonic ZS45 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 huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the ZS45 (16MP) and A500 (12MP) and the ZS45 (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) come with different sensor dimensions.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The ZS45 was unveiled 5 years after the A500 which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a concise overview of how the ZS45 scores vs the A500 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The full galleries are available at Panasonic ZS45 Gallery and Sony A500 Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry around your camera regularly, you'll have to factor its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZS45 enjoys external dimensions of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs) whilst the Sony A500 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic ZS45 vs Sony A500 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have at that time. The following is the front view dimension comparison of the ZS45 against the A500.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the ZS45 and A500 is 91 and 63 respectively.

Often, it is difficult to imagine the gap between sensor sizes just by checking a spec sheet. The pic below should offer you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS45 and A500.

Clearly, each of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The ZS45 using its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Panasonic ZS45 will give extra detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The younger ZS45 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.