Panasonic ZS7 vs Sony NEX-5N

Lets look more closely at the Panasonic ZS7 and Sony NEX-5N, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Panasonic and Sony. There exists a big gap between the sensor resolutions of the ZS7 (12MP) and NEX-5N (16MP) and the ZS7 (1/2.3") and NEX-5N (APS-C) posses different sensor sizes.

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The ZS7 was brought out 2 months prior to the NEX-5N so they are both of a similar generation. Both the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS7 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5N being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a short highlight of how the ZS7 matches up vs the NEX-5N with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 and Sony Alpha NEX-5N. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS7 Gallery and Sony NEX-5N Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera often, you're going to have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic ZS7 has exterior dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 218 grams (0.48 lbs) and the Sony NEX-5N has dimensions of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") along with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

See the Panasonic ZS7 and Sony NEX-5N in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you select at that moment. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the ZS7 against the NEX-5N.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZS7 and NEX-5N is 91 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to imagine the difference between sensor measurements purely by reading a spec sheet. The visual here might offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS7 and NEX-5N.

As you can see, both of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The ZS7 because of its tinier sensor is going to make getting bokeh more difficult and the Sony NEX-5N will offer you extra detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos a bit more aggressively.