CameraDecision
  • CAMERAS
  • LENSES
  • TOOLS
    • Smart Find
    • 1-on-1 Comparison
    • Size Comparison

Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100

x
Camera to replace
Change

Sony RX100 IV

20 MP | 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Sony RX100 IV
$898.00
Change

Panasonic ZS100

20 MP | 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) MOS Sensor

Panasonic ZS100
$547.99
22%
off
Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two Large Sensor Compact cameras. Both cameras have 20.0MP sensors but Sony RX100 IV's sensor is 1" sized whereas Panasonic ZS100 has a 1 sensor.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony RX100 IV Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2015-06-10
  • 20MP - 1" BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • 24-70 mm F1.8-2.8 Zoom Lens
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3″ Tilting Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 16.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 960 fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 298g. 102 x 58 x 41 mm
  • Replaced Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III Compare

Panasonic ZS100 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2016-01-05
  • 20MP - 1 MOS Sensor
  • ISO 125 - 12800 ( expands to 80-25600)
  • 25-250 mm F2.8-5.9 Zoom Lens
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3″ Fixed Type Screen
  • 1166k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 50.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 312g. 111 x 65 x 44 mm
  • Also known as Lumix DMC-TZ100

Sony RX100 IV was replaced by Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 (Lumix DMC-TZ100)

Panasonic ZS100 was replaced by Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 (Lumix DMC-TZ100)
Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV

Reasons to choose Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV over Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100
Articulating Screen Yes vs No Flexible shooting positions
LCD Screen Resolution 1.229k dots vs 1.040k dots 18% higher resolution screen
Weight 298 g vs 312 g 14 g lighter
Focal Length - Wide 24mm vs 25mm 1 mm wider coverage
Max Aperture - Wide 1.80 vs 2.80 faster lens at wide
Max Aperture - Tele 2.80 vs 5.90 faster lens at tele
Viewfinder Resolution 2359k dot vs 1166k dot 102% higher resolution
Color Depth 22.9 vs 22.8 higher color depth
Dynamic Range 12.6 vs 12.5 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO 562 vs 559 better High ISO performance
Built-in ND Filter Yes vs No Use larger aperture under strong light
NFC Connection Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 over Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV
Touch Screen Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Number of Focus Points 49 vs 25 24 more focus points
Max Shutter Speed 1/16000s vs 1/2000s faster shutter speed
Continuous Shooting 50.0fps vs 16.0fps 34 fps faster
Battery Life 300 shots vs 280 shots 20 more frames with a single charge
Timelapse Recording Yes vs With optional app creative shooting
Focal Length - Tele 250mm vs 70mm 180 mm longer tele reach
Optical Zoom 10x vs 2.9x more flexible focal coverage
Price $548 vs $898 $350 cheaper
4K Photo Mode Yes vs No Extract 8MP photos from 4K Video
Post Focus Mode Yes vs No Change focus point after taking a shot
Common Strengths of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100
Wireless Connection Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Image Stabilization Optical vs Optical All the lenses are stabilized
Built-in Flash Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
Viewfinder Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Electronic) Better framing and control
RAW Support Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution 20 MP vs 20 MP Bigger prints and more details
Manual Focusing Yes vs Yes both have manual focusing modes
Manual Exposure Yes vs Yes better exposure control
AE Bracketing Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Smartphone Remote Control Yes vs Yes Remote control your camera with a smartphone
Common Weaknesses of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV and Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100
External Flash Shoe No vs No Not suitable for flash photography
Environmental Sealing No vs No not suitable for tough conditions
Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100: Physical Specs Comparison

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100. Sony RX100 IV is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 9mm narrower, 7mm shorter and 3mm thinner than Panasonic ZS100.

Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100.
Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100 Camera Size Comparison - Top View

Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100 Detailed Size Comparison

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony RX100 IV is 14g lighter than the Panasonic ZS100 but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

Weight Comparison

Compact Cameras

RX100 IV
ZS100
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Compact Cameras

RX100 IV
ZS100
Min
Average
Max
Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100: Sensor Comparison

Both Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100 have 20.0 MP resolution sensors but Sony RX100 IV's sensor is 1" (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) and Panasonic ZS100's sensor is 1 (13.2 x 8.8 mm ).

Since Panasonic ZS100's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Sony RX100 IV.

Below you can see the RX100 IV and ZS100 sensor size comparison.

Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100 Sensor Size Comparison


Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100 have sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture.

Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100 Lens Specs Comparison

Sony RX100 IV features a 24-70 mm F1.8-2.8 2.9x zoom lens whereas Panasonic ZS100 features a 25-250 mm F2.8-5.9 10x zoom lens.

Sony RX100 IV has 1mm wider coverage than the Panasonic ZS100. At f1.80, it is also faster at widest end. On the tele end, Panasonic ZS100 has 180mm longer telezoom reach than the Sony RX100 IV. However, with a max aperture of f2.80, Sony RX100 IV is faster at widest end.

Wide Coverage

Large Sensor Compact Cameras

RX100 IV
ZS100
Widest - Canon G1 X III
Average
Telezoom

Large Sensor Compact Cameras

RX100 IV
ZS100
Longest - Panasonic ZS100
Average
Max Aperture at Tele

Large Sensor Compact Cameras

RX100 IV
ZS100
Fastest - Leica Q
Average
Max Aperture at Wide

Large Sensor Compact Cameras

RX100 IV
ZS100
Fastest - Panasonic LX10
Average
What types of Photography are Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Sony RX100 IV for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Panasonic ZS100 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
RAW shooting capability
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Manual Focus Mode
Manual Exposure Mode
No External Flash Shoe
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
RAW shooting capability
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Manual Focus Mode
Manual Exposure Mode
No External Flash Shoe
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Sony RX100 IV for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Panasonic ZS100 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Image Stabilization
RAW shooting capability
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Manual Focus Mode
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Fast Lens at Wide: f1.80
24 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Read the details
Image Stabilization
RAW shooting capability
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Manual Focus Mode
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fast Lens at Wide: f2.80
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Read the details

Sony RX100 IV for Sports Photography

AVERAGE

Panasonic ZS100 for Sports Photography

AVERAGE
Image Stabilization
RAW shooting capability
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Manual Focus Mode
Manual Exposure Mode
Fast Continuous Shooting: 16.0fps
25 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
No External Flash Shoe
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Poor Battery Life: 280 shots
70 mm Tele Lens
Read the details
Image Stabilization
RAW shooting capability
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Manual Focus Mode
Manual Exposure Mode
Fast Continuous Shooting: 50.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/16000s
49 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
250 mm Tele Lens
No External Flash Shoe
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.90
Read the details

Sony RX100 IV for Daily Photography

GOOD

Panasonic ZS100 for Daily Photography

GOOD
RAW shooting capability
Compact Body
298g
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Body Thickness 41mm
3X Optical Zoom
Read the details
RAW shooting capability
Compact Body
10X Optical Zoom
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
312g
Body Thickness 44mm
Read the details

Sony RX100 IV for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Panasonic ZS100 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
RAW shooting capability
Manual Focus Mode
Manual Exposure Mode
24 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Manual Focus Mode
Manual Exposure Mode
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details


Sony RX100 IV vs Panasonic ZS100: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Sony RX100 IV and Panasonic ZS100 scores compare:

Sony RX100 IV
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #13 out of 44 in Large sensor compact cameras
Ranked #165 out of 1131 in all Cameras
Panasonic ZS100
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #4 out of 44 in Large Sensor Compact cameras
Ranked #95 out of 1131 in all Cameras

Panasonic ZS100 has a higher Overall Score than the Sony RX100 IV and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Sony RX100 IV
Sony RX100 IV
$898.00

Panasonic ZS100
Panasonic ZS100
$547.99
22%
off

Panasonic ZS100 vs Sony RX100 IV Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100
Brand Sony Panasonic
Announced 2015-06-10 2016-01-05
Body Type Large sensor compact Large Sensor Compact
Price $898.00 $547.99
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS MOS
Size 1" 1
Dimensions 13.2 x 8.8 mm 13.2 x 8.8 mm
Area 116.16mm2 116.16mm2
Megapixels 20 megapixels 20 megapixels
Max Resolution 5472 x 3648 5472 x 3648
Max Native Light sensitivity 12,800 ISO 12,800 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 25600 ISO 25600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 125 ISO 125 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity 80 ISO 80 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 25 49
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens Focal Range 24-70 mm (2.9x) 25-250 mm (10x)
Max Aperture F1.8-2.8 F2.8-5.9
Macro Focus Range 5cm 5cm
Screen
Type Tilting Fixed type
Size 3″ 3″
Resolution 1,229k dots 1,040k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution 2,359k dots 1,166k dots
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.59 0.46
Photography Features
Max Shutter Speed 1/2000s 1/16000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Optical Optical
Built-in Flash
Flash Range n/a 8.00 m (at Auto ISO)
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 16.0 fps 50.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 3840 x 2160
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 298g 312g
Dimensions 102 x 58 x 41mm 111 x 65 x 44mm
Battery Life 280 shots 300 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording With Downloadable App
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 70 70
DxO Color Depth 22.9 22.8
DxO Dynamic Range 12.6 12.5
DxO Low Light ISO 562 559
Report a correction Report a correction
LATEST DEALS!

Panasonic GX8 with 12-60mm and Freebies for $998
4TB Seagate Expansion Desktop External HDD USB 3.0 for $100
Olympus E-M1II with 12-40mm Lens - $300 Off
New Rebates on Sony Alpha A7 Series

  • See all Active Deals here


  • Most Popular Cameras
    Sony A7R II
    Sony A7R II
    42 MP | Full frame BSI-CMOS | Sony E Mount
    Sony RX1R II
    Sony RX1R II
    42 MP | Full frame BSI-CMOS | 35 mm Lens
    Nikon D750
    Nikon D750
    24 MP | Full frame CMOS | Nikon F Mount
    Sony A6300
    Sony A6300
    24 MP | APS-C CMOS | Sony E (NEX) Mount
    Canon SX410 IS
    Canon SX410 IS
    20 MP | 1/2.3 CCD | 24-960 mm Lens
    Top Rated Compact Cameras
    Top Cameras Under $200
    Top Compact Cameras Under $500
    Top Compact Cameras Under $750
    Top Compact Cameras Under $1000
    Copyright © 2017 by CameraDecision
    About Feedback Privacy

    Report a Correction