Panasonic ZS3 vs Nikon 1 J1 Comparison

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Panasonic ZS3

10 MP | 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) CCD Sensor

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Nikon 1 J1

10 MP | 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Panasonic ZS3 vs Nikon 1 J1 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Panasonic ZS3, which was introduced in May 2009 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 10.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Nikon 1 J1, which was introduced in January 2012 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 10.0MP 1-inch sensor. As you can see, ZS3 is 3 years older than 1 J1. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Panasonic ZS3 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2009-05-14

10MP - 1/2.3-inch CCD Sensor

ISO 80 - 6400

25-300 mm F3.3-4.9 Zoom Lens

Optical Image Stabilization

3" Fixed Type Screen

2 fps continuous shooting

HD - 1280 x 720 video resolution

229g. 103 x 60 x 33 mm

Also known as Lumix DMC-TZ7

Nikon 1 J1 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2012-01-20

10MP - 1-inch CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 6400

Nikon 1 Mount

3" Fixed Type Screen

10 fps continuous shooting

Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution

1200fps High-Speed Video

234g. 106 x 61 x 30 mm

Nikon 1 J1 was replaced by Nikon 1 J2. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon 1 J2 vs Nikon 1 J1
Nikon 1 J2 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 over Nikon 1 J1

Image Stabilization	Optical vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Weight	229 g vs 234 g	5 g lighter

Reasons to choose Nikon 1 J1 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3

RAW Support	Yes vs No	Better image quality
Number of Focus Points	135 vs 11	124 more focus points
Max Mech. Shutter	1/4000s vs 1/2000s	faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting	10.0fps vs 2.0fps	8 fps faster
Manual Exposure	Yes vs No	better exposure control
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs No	creative shooting
Sensor Pixel Area	11.57µm² vs 2.78µm²	316% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution	1920 x 1080 vs 1280 x 720	Higher Resolution Video

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1

Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light

Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1

Fixed Screen	Fixed Type vs No	No flexible viewing angles
External Flash Shoe	No vs No	Not suitable for flash photography
Viewfinder	None vs None	No eye-level shooting option
Max Resolution	10 MP vs 10 MP	Less details and smaller prints
LCD Screen Resolution	460k dots vs 460k dots	Low resolution screens
Environmental Sealing	No vs No	not suitable for tough conditions
AE Bracketing	No vs No	Not good for multi-exposure HDR

Panasonic ZS3 vs Nikon 1 J1: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Panasonic ZS3 has external dimensions of 103 x 60 x 33 mm (4.06 x 2.36 x 1.3″) and weighs 229 g (0.50 lb / 8.08 oz) (including batteries). Nikon 1 J1 has external dimensions of 106 x 61 x 30 mm (4.17 x 2.4 x 1.18″) and weighs 234 g (0.52 lb / 8.25 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1. Panasonic ZS3 is 3mm narrower and 1mm shorter than Nikon 1 J1 but it is also 3mm thicker. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic ZS3 has a built-in lens but Nikon 1 J1 doesn't. Once you put a lens on 1 J1, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1.

Top View Comparison image of Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Panasonic ZS3 is 5g lighter than the Nikon 1 J1 but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on 1 J1, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7) nor Nikon 1 J1 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.

Panasonic ZS3 vs Nikon 1 J1: Sensor Comparison

Both Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 have 10.0 MP resolution sensors but Panasonic ZS3's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) and Nikon 1 J1's sensor is 1-inch (13.2 x 8.8 mm ).

Since Nikon 1 J1'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 ZS3.

Below you can see the ZS3 and 1 J1 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 Cameras

As seen above, Nikon 1 J1 has a 4.2x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS3. 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.

What types of Photography are Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 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.

Panasonic ZS3 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Nikon 1 J1 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Image Stabilization
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon 1 J1 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details

Live-view
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 for Sports Photography

POOR

Nikon 1 J1 for Sports Photography

AVERAGE

Image Stabilization
11 Focus Points
300 mm Tele Lens
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 2.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
135 Focus Points
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Environmental Sealings
Poor Battery Life: 230 shots
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Nikon 1 J1 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Compact Body
229g
12.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details

234g
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Nikon 1 J1 for Landscape Photography

POOR

25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Live-view
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 vs Nikon 1 J1: 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 Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1, 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 Panasonic ZS3 and Nikon 1 J1 scores compare:

Panasonic ZS3

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #342 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #996 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Nikon 1 J1

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #112 out of 127 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #459 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Nikon 1 J1 has a higher Overall Score than the Panasonic ZS3 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Nikon 1 J1 vs Panasonic ZS3 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3	Nikon 1 J1
Brand	Panasonic	Nikon
Announced	2009-05-14	2012-01-20
Body Type	Compact	Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type	CCD	CMOS
Size	1/2.3-inch	1-inch
Dimensions	6.08 x 4.56 mm	13.2 x 8.8 mm
Area	27.72mm²	116.16mm²
Megapixels	10 megapixels	10 megapixels
Max Resolution	3648 x 2736	3872 x 2592
Max Native Light sensitivity	6,400 ISO	6,400 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity	80 ISO	100 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	11	135
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	fixed lens	Nikon 1
Lens Focal Range	25-300 mm (12×)	no lens
Max Aperture	F3.3-4.9	no lens
Macro Focus Range	3cm	no lens
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Fixed type
Size	3"	3"
Resolution	460k dots	460k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	None	None
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/2000s	1/4000s
Max Electronic Shutter	n/a	1/16000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	Optical	No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	5.30 m (Auto ISO)	5.00 m
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/60s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	2.0 fps	10.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	1280 x 720	1920 x 1080
Video Formats	AVCHD Lite	MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	229g	234g
Dimensions	103 x 60 x 33mm	106 x 61 x 30mm
Battery Life	n/a	230 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	56
DxO Color Depth	not tested	21.5
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	11.0
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	372
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