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Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5 Comparison

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Panasonic ZS7

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

Panasonic ZS7
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Panasonic G5

16 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

Panasonic G5
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Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two Panasonic cameras cameras with different body types: Panasonic ZS7, which was introduced in July 2011 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 12.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Panasonic G5, which was introduced in July 2012 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 16.0MP Four Thirds sensor. There is 12 months difference between ZS7 and G5 so we don't expect to see a huge technology difference between these two cameras but it would still give an advantage to younger G5, especially in sensor tech.

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 ZS7 and Panasonic G5 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Panasonic ZS7 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-07-19
  • 12MP - 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
  • Built-in GPS
  • 218g. 103 x 60 x 33 mm
  • Also known as Lumix DMC-TZ10

Panasonic G5 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2012-07-17
  • 16MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 160 - 12800
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 1440k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 6 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 396g. 120 x 83 x 71 mm
  • Replaced Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 Compare

Panasonic ZS7 was replaced by Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (Lumix DMC-TZ10)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5

Panasonic G5 was replaced by Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (Lumix DMC-TZ10)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
Image Stabilization
Optical vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
GPS
BuiltIn vs None track your location
Weight
218 g vs 396 g 178 g lighter


Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 over Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7
LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder
Electronic 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 Sensor Resolution
16 MP vs 12 MP 33% more pixels
Max ISO
12.800 vs 6.400 100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
23 vs 11 12 more focus points
LCD Screen Resolution
920k dots vs 460k dots 100% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/4000s vs 1/2000s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
6.0fps vs 2.0fps 4 fps faster
Flash Coverage
10.5m vs 5.3m 5.2m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
14.12µm2 vs 2.31µm2 511% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution
1920 x 1080 vs 1280 x 720 Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies

Common Strengths of Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
Built-in Flash
Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
Common Weaknesses of Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
Environmental Sealing
No vs No not suitable for tough conditions
Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5: 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 ZS7 and Panasonic G5 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Panasonic ZS7 has external dimensions of 103 x 60 x 33 mm (4.06 x 2.36 x 1.3″) and weighs 218 g (0.48 lb / 7.69 oz) (including batteries). Panasonic G5 has external dimensions of 120 x 83 x 71 mm (4.72 x 3.27 x 2.8″) and weighs 396 g (0.87 lb / 13.97 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5. Panasonic ZS7 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 17mm narrower, 23mm shorter and 38mm thinner than Panasonic G5. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic ZS7 has a built-in lens but Panasonic G5 doesn't. Once you put a lens on G5, its thickness will increase significantly.

Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5.

Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5.
Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Panasonic ZS7 is significantly lighter (178g ) than the Panasonic G5 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 G5, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 (Lumix DMC-TZ10) nor Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 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 ZS7 and Panasonic G5's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

On the other hand, Panasonic G5 sports a Fully Articulated screen which you can change the angle and position of the screen almost freely, making it possible to shoot from waist or over the head levels, and especially very useful for shooting selfies and video. Panasonic ZS7's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to G5.
Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5: Sensor Comparison

Panasonic ZS7 has a 12.0MP 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Venus Engine HD II processor. On the other hand, Panasonic G5 has a 16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine VII FHD processor.

Below you can see the ZS7 and G5 sensor size comparison.

Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5 Cameras


As seen above, Panasonic G5 has a 8.1x Larger sensor area than Panasonic ZS7. 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 ZS7 and Panasonic G5 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Panasonic ZS7 and Panasonic G5 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 ZS7 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Panasonic G5 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic ZS7 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Panasonic G5 for Street Photography

GOOD
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 Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Panasonic ZS7 for Sports Photography

POOR

Panasonic G5 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
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 2.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
23 Focus Points
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic ZS7 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Panasonic G5 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
Compact Body
218g
12.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
396g
Body Thickness 71mm
Read the details

Panasonic ZS7 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Panasonic G5 for Landscape Photography

POOR
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Built-in GPS
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Panasonic ZS7 vs Panasonic G5: 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 ZS7 and Panasonic G5, 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 ZS7 and Panasonic G5 scores compare:

Panasonic ZS7
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #229 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #821 out of 1226 in all Cameras
Panasonic G5
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #75 out of 88 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #273 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Panasonic G5 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Panasonic ZS7 in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Panasonic ZS7. Otherwise, Panasonic G5 is the better camera overall.

Panasonic ZS7
Panasonic ZS7
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Panasonic G5
Panasonic G5
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Panasonic G5 vs Panasonic ZS7 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5
Brand Panasonic Panasonic
Announced 2011-07-19 2012-07-17
Body Type Compact SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type CCD CMOS
Size 1/2.3-inch Four Thirds
Dimensions 6.08 x 4.56 mm 17.3 x 13 mm
Area 27.72mm2 224.90mm2
Megapixels 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
Max Resolution 4000 x 3000 4608 x 3456
Max Native Light sensitivity 6,400 ISO 12,800 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 80 ISO 160 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 23
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
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 Fully Articulated
Size 3" 3"
Resolution 460k dots 920k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder 1,440k dots
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 100%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.7x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/2000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Optical Optical
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 5.30 m 10.50 m
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 2.0 fps 6.0 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, AVCHD
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity None None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 218g 396g
Dimensions 103 x 60 x 33mm 120 x 83 x 71mm
Battery Life n/a 320 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS Built-in None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 61
DxO Color Depth not tested 21.4
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 11.6
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 618
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