Panasonic ZS5 vs Sony NEX-7

Its time to look more closely at the Panasonic ZS5 and Sony NEX-7, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There exists a sizeable gap between the image resolutions of the ZS5 (12MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the ZS5 (1/2.3") and NEX-7 (APS-C) possess totally different sensor sizes.

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The ZS5 was manufactured 18 months before the NEX-7 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZS5 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going in to a full comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the ZS5 grades vs the NEX-7 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 and Sony Alpha NEX-7. The entire galleries are viewable at Panasonic ZS5 Gallery and Sony NEX-7 Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to think about its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZS5 offers 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 NEX-7 has sizing of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") and a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic ZS5 and Sony NEX-7 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are using during that time. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the ZS5 compared to the NEX-7.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the ZS5 and NEX-7 is 92 and 84 respectively.

Normally, it is tough to envision the gap between sensor measurements only by reading a spec sheet. The visual underneath might give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS5 and NEX-7.

As you can see, each of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The ZS5 due to its tinier sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field harder and the Sony NEX-7 will offer you greater detail due to its extra 12 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older ZS5 is going to be behind in sensor innovation.