Both Panasonic ZS3 and Panasonic ZS1 have 10.0 MP resolution sensors but Panasonic ZS3's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) and Panasonic ZS1's sensor is 1/2.5-inch (5.744 x 4.308 mm ).
Since Panasonic ZS3'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 ZS1.
Below you can see the ZS3 and ZS1 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic ZS3 and Panasonic ZS1 Cameras
As seen above, Panasonic ZS3 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS1. 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.
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
Panasonic ZS3
or the
Panasonic ZS1 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3-inch versus 1/2.5-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.
