Panasonic ZS8 vs Sony A580

Lets look much closer at the Panasonic ZS8 and Sony A580, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Sony. The image resolution of the ZS8 (14MP) and the A580 (16MP) is relatively comparable but the ZS8 (1/2.3") and A580 (APS-C) posses different sensor size.

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The ZS8 was announced 2 months after the A580 so they are of a similar age. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS8 being a Compact camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go into a thorough comparison, here is a simple summation of how the ZS8 matches up against the A580 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A580. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic ZS8 Gallery & Sony A580 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry around your camera frequently, you're going to have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic ZS8 features outside dimensions of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 210 grams (0.46 lbs) whilst the Sony A580 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZS8 and Sony A580 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the ZS8 vs the A580.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the ZS8 and A580 is 92 and 64 respectively.

Oftentimes, its difficult to visualize the gap in sensor sizes only by going through technical specs. The image underneath might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS8 and A580.

As you have seen, both of those cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The ZS8 using its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field tougher and the Sony A580 will provide extra detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively.