Panasonic ZS5 vs Sony A290

Here, we are matching up the Panasonic ZS5 and Sony A290, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Sony. The sensor resolution of the ZS5 (12MP) and the A290 (14MP) is very close but the ZS5 (1/2.3") and A290 (APS-C) posses different sensor sizing.

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The ZS5 was unveiled within a month of the A290 which means that they are of a similar age. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS5 being a Compact camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going straight to a thorough comparison, here is a concise overview of how the ZS5 scores vs the A290 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. The full galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS5 Gallery & Sony A290 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to travel with your camera, you are going to need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS5 features exterior dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 214 grams (0.47 lbs) while the Sony A290 has measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") along with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZS5 and Sony A290 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at that time. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the ZS5 vs the A290.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS5 and A290 is 92 and 66 respectively.

Typically, it is very tough to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions merely by viewing technical specs. The image below will give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS5 and A290.

As you can tell, both of the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The ZS5 using its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Sony A290 will render greater detail having an extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop images a good deal more aggressively.