Panasonic ZS50 vs Sony RX100 IV

On this page, we are looking at the Panasonic ZS50 and Sony RX100 IV, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Panasonic and Sony. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the ZS50 (12MP) and RX100 IV (20MP) and the ZS50 (1/2.3") and RX100 IV (1") boast different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The ZS50 was announced 5 months before the RX100 IV and they are both of a similar generation. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS50 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 IV being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a concise synopsis of how the ZS50 grades versus the RX100 IV in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic ZS50 Gallery and Sony RX100 IV Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS50 has physical dimensions of 111mm x 65mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3") with a weight of 243 grams (0.54 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 IV has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") along with a weight of 298 grams (0.66 lbs).

See the Panasonic ZS50 and Sony RX100 IV in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have during that time. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the ZS50 against the RX100 IV.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZS50 and RX100 IV is 90 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to picture the difference between sensor measurements only by looking at specifications. The graphic here might provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS50 and RX100 IV.

Plainly, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The ZS50 using its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field tougher and the Sony RX100 IV will give extra detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics more aggressively.