Panasonic ZS3 vs Sony A330 Comparison

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Panasonic ZS3

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

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Sony A330

10 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) CCD Sensor

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Panasonic ZS3 vs Sony A330 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 Sony A330, which was introduced in May 2009 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 10.0MP APS-C sensor. Both ZS3 and A330 were launched within the same month so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and available technology level.

Comparing a DSLR camera to a Fixed Lens camera is not an easy task 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 Sony A330 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

Sony A330 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2009-05-18

10MP - APS-C CCD Sensor

ISO 100 - 3200

Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

2.7" Tilting Screen

Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder

3 fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

529g. 128 x 97 x 71 mm

Replaced Sony Alpha DSLR-A300 Compare

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Panasonic ZS3 and Sony A330 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 over Sony Alpha DSLR-A330

Max ISO	6.400 vs 3.200	100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points	11 vs 9	2 more focus points
LCD Screen Size	3" vs 2.7"	0.3 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution	460k dots vs 230k dots	99% higher resolution screen
Weight	229 g vs 529 g	300 g lighter
Max Video Resolution	1280 x 720 vs None	Higher Resolution Video

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3

LCD Screen	Tilting vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe	Yes vs No	Better for flash photography
Viewfinder	Optical vs None	Better framing and control
RAW Support	Yes vs No	Better image quality
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs No	very handy for portraits
Max Mech. Shutter	1/4000s vs 1/2000s	faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting	3.0fps vs 2.0fps	1 fps faster
Manual Exposure	Yes vs No	better exposure control
Flash Coverage	10.0m vs 5.3m	4.7m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area	36.75µm² vs 2.78µm²	1221% larger pixel area

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A330

Image Stabilization	Optical vs Sensor-shift	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light

Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A330

Max Resolution	10 MP vs 10 MP	Less details and smaller prints
LCD Screen Size	3" vs 2.7"	Small display
LCD Screen Resolution	460k dots vs 230k 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 Sony A330: 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 Sony A330 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). Sony A330 has external dimensions of 128 x 97 x 71 mm (5.04 x 3.82 x 2.8″) and weighs 529 g (1.17 lb / 18.66 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic ZS3 and Sony A330. Panasonic ZS3 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 25mm narrower, 37mm shorter and 38mm thinner than Sony A330. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic ZS3 has a built-in lens but Sony A330 doesn't. Once you put a lens on A330, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Panasonic ZS3 and Sony A330 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Panasonic ZS3 is significantly lighter (300g ) than the Sony A330 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

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 A330, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 (Lumix DMC-TZ7) nor Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 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 DSLR Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Panasonic ZS3's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Sony A330's 2.7" screen.

On the other hand, Sony A330 LCD screen has a Tilting feature where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Panasonic ZS3 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A330.

Panasonic ZS3 vs Sony A330: Sensor Comparison

Both Panasonic ZS3 and Sony A330 have 10.0 MP resolution sensors but Panasonic ZS3's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) and Sony A330's sensor is APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ).

Since Sony A330'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 A330 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic ZS3 and Sony A330 Cameras

As seen above, Sony A330 has a 13.3x 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 Sony A330 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic ZS3 and Sony A330 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

Sony A330 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

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

Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A330 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

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

Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 for Sports Photography

POOR

Sony A330 for Sports Photography

GOOD

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

Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Poor Battery Life: 230 shots
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Sony A330 for Daily Photography

GOOD

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

Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Large Body
529g
Body Thickness 71mm
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sony A330 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

Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Live-view
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic ZS3 vs Sony A330: 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 Sony A330, 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 Sony A330 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

Sony A330

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #43 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #321 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Sony A330 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Panasonic ZS3 in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Panasonic ZS3. Otherwise, Sony A330 is the better camera overall.

Panasonic ZS3

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Sony A330

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Sony A330 vs Panasonic ZS3 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3	Sony Alpha DSLR-A330
Brand	Panasonic	Sony
Announced	2009-05-14	2009-05-18
Body Type	Compact	Compact SLR
Sensor
Type	CCD	CCD
Size	1/2.3-inch	APS-C
Dimensions	6.08 x 4.56 mm	23.5 x 15.7 mm
Area	27.72mm²	368.95mm²
Megapixels	10 megapixels	10 megapixels
Max Resolution	3648 x 2736	3872 x 2592
Max Native Light sensitivity	6,400 ISO	3,200 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	9
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	fixed lens	Sony/Minolta Alpha
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	Tilting
Size	3"	2.7"
Resolution	460k dots	230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	None	Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder Coverage	n/a	95%
Viewfinder Magnification	n/a	0.49x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/2000s	1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	Optical	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	5.30 m (Auto ISO)	10.00 m
Max Flash Sync	n/a	1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	2.0 fps	3.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	1280 x 720	None
Video Formats	AVCHD Lite	n/a
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	229g	529g
Dimensions	103 x 60 x 33mm	128 x 97 x 71mm
Battery Life	n/a	230 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	not tested	64
DxO Color Depth	not tested	22.4
DxO Dynamic Range	not tested	11.5
DxO Low Light ISO	not tested	535
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