Both Canon 1200D and Panasonic ZS60 have 18.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon 1200D's sensor is APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) and Panasonic ZS60's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ).
Since Canon 1200D'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 Panasonic ZS60.
Below you can see the 1200D and ZS60 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 1200D and Panasonic ZS60 Cameras
As seen above, Canon 1200D has a 11.8x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS60. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Canon 1200D and Panasonic ZS60 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, 1200D has scored 63, 26 points higher than ZS60.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Canon 1200D
63
21.9 bits
11.3 Evs
724 ISO
Panasonic ZS60
37
19.3 bits
10.6 Evs
109 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Canon 1200D
or the
Panasonic ZS60 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(APS-C versus 1/2.3-inch),
so compare them at the same framing rather than the same focal length.
Put the same focal length on the smaller sensor and it will show less depth of
field, not more, because it also crops tighter. The calculator shows the
full frame equivalent focal length for each body so you can match the framing.
