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Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000 Comparison

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Sony A7R III

42 MP | Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Sony A7R III
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Panasonic FZ1000

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

Panasonic FZ1000
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Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Sony A7R III, which was introduced in October 2017 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 42.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Panasonic FZ1000, which was introduced in June 2014 is a Large Sensor Superzoom camera with a 20.0MP 1″ sensor. As you can see, FZ1000 is 3 years older than A7R III. 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 the Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A7R III Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2017-10-25
  • 42MP - Full frame BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter
  • ISO 100 - 32000 ( expands to 50 - 102400)
  • Sony E Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Tilting Screen
  • 3686k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 10.0fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 657g. 127 x 96 x 74 mm
  • Weather-sealed Body
  • Replaced Sony Alpha A7R II Compare

Panasonic FZ1000 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-06-12
  • 20MP - 1″ CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 125 - 12800 ( expands to 80 - 25600)
  • 25-400 mm F2.8-4.0 Zoom Lens
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 12.0fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840x2160 video resolution
  • 120fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 831g. 137 x 99 x 131 mm

Sony A7R III was replaced by Sony Alpha A7R IV. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha A7R IV vs Sony Alpha A7R III
Sony Alpha A7R IV vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000

Panasonic FZ1000 was replaced by Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ1000 II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ1000 II vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ1000 II vs Sony Alpha A7R III

Let's read on in the following sections in order to better understand in detail how the Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.


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Sony A7R III Sony A7R III
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Panasonic FZ1000 Panasonic FZ1000
See at AMAZON
Sony A7R III
See at AMAZON
Panasonic FZ1000
See at AMAZON
Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7R III over Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder Magnif.
0.78x vs 0.7x Larger Viewfinder
Sensor Resolution
42 MP vs 20 MP 110% more pixels
Max ISO
32.000 vs 12.800 150% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
425 vs 49 376 more focus points
LCD Resolution
1.440k dots vs 921k dots 56% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Battery Life
650 shots vs 360 shots 290 more frames with a single charge
Weight
657 g vs 831 g 174 g lighter
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Viewfinder Resolution
3686.4k dot vs 2359k dot 56% higher resolution
Color Depth
26.0 vs 22.1 higher color depth
Dynamic Range
14.7 vs 11.7 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO
3523 vs 517 better High ISO performance
Sensor Pixel Area
20.43µm2 vs 5.82µm2 251% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing Range
±5 EV vs ±3 EV Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
Flash Sync Port
Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
Pixel Shift High-Res Mode
Yes (169. 6) vs No Increased resolution with pixel shift
Bluetooth
Yes vs No Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Storage Slot
2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
USB Version
USB 3.1 Gen 1(5 GBit/sec) vs USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Faster Data transfer from the camera
Animal Eye AF Tracking
Yes vs No Easily lock and track focus on animals
Webcam Function
Yes vs No Use your camera as a Webcam
Anti Flicker
Yes vs No Reduced uneven color and exposure under flickering light
Eye Tracking Focus
Yes vs No Autofocus system locks on the eye and tracks the subject
CHECK A7R III PRICE


Reasons to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 over Sony Alpha A7R III
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Continuous Shooting
12.0fps vs 10.0fps 2 fps faster
4K Photo Mode
Yes vs No Extract 8MP photos from 4K Video
CHECK FZ1000 PRICE

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7R III and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
Wireless Connection
Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs Optical Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Adjustable LCD Screen
Tilting vs Fully Articulated Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Electronic) Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution
42 MP vs 20 MP Bigger prints and more details
Max Continuous Shooting
10.0fps vs 12.0fps Fast shooting speeds
Microphone Port
Yes vs Yes High quality audio recording option
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs Yes creative shooting
AE Bracketing
Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
NFC Connection
Yes vs Yes Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Dual-axis Electronic Level
Yes vs Yes Level the camera easily in two axis
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs Yes Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support
UHS-II vs UHS-I Read/Write in High Speeds
Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7R III and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000: Physical Specs and Body Features Comparison

Size and weight are big decision factors when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, we are going to illustrate the Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7R III has external dimensions of 127 x 96 x 74 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.91″) and weighs 657 g (1.45 lb / 23.17 oz) (including batteries). Panasonic FZ1000 has external dimensions of 137 x 99 x 131 mm (5.39 x 3.9 x 5.16″) and weighs 831 g (1.83 lb / 29.31 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front-view size comparison of the Sony A7R III and the Panasonic FZ1000. Sony A7R III is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 10mm narrower, 3mm shorter and 57mm thinner than Panasonic FZ1000. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic FZ1000 has a built-in lens but Sony A7R III doesn't. Once you put a lens on A7R III, its thickness will increase significantly.

Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of the Sony A7R III and the Panasonic FZ1000 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of the Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000.

Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of the Sony A7R III and the Panasonic FZ1000 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000.
Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of the Sony A7R III and the Panasonic FZ1000 Size

Weight is another important factor, especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony A7R III is significantly lighter (174g ) than the Panasonic FZ1000 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 A7R III, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

With its weather-sealed body, we believe that the A7R III has a big advantage over the FZ1000 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000's LCD screens have the same diagonal size of 3.00 inches.

Sony A7R III features a Tilting-only screen which is mostly only good for shooting from waist or over-the-head levels. On the other hand, Panasonic FZ1000 sports a Fully Articulated screen which is more flexible and useful, especially for taking selfies and video.


Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000: Sensor Comparison

Sony A7R III has a 42.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Panasonic FZ1000 has a 20.0MP 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor.

Sony A7R III's sensor provides 22MP more than Panasonic FZ1000's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely. On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.

Another difference between these two cameras is that Sony A7R III's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the A7R III and FZ1000 sensor size comparison.

Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000 Cameras


As seen above, Sony A7R III has a 7.4x Larger sensor area than Panasonic FZ1000. 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 Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000 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, A7R III has scored 100, 36 points higher than FZ1000.

Model Overall Color Depth Dynamic Range Low-light ISO
Sony A7R III 100 26.0 bits 14.7 Evs 3523 ISO
Panasonic FZ1000 64 22.1 bits 11.7 Evs 517 ISO
What types of Photography are Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000 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.

Sony A7R III for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Panasonic FZ1000 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 42.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Check the Best Sony E Mount Lenses for Portrait Photography
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
External Flash Shoe
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Panasonic FZ1000 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Check the Best Sony E Mount Lenses for Street Photography
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Fast Lens at Wide: f2.80
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Sports Photography

GOOD

Panasonic FZ1000 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
425 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 650 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Read the details

Check the Best Sony E Mount Lenses for Sports Photography
Image Stabilization
External Flash Shoe
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Fast Continuous Shooting: 12.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
49 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
400 mm Tele Lens
Fast Lens at Tele: f4.00
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Panasonic FZ1000 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
657g
Body Thickness 74mm
Read the details
16.0X Optical Zoom
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
831g
Body Thickness 131mm
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Landscape Photography

GOOD

Panasonic FZ1000 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 42.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details

Check the Best Sony E Mount Lenses for Landscape Photography
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Sony A7R III vs Panasonic FZ1000: 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 Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 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 Sony A7R III and Panasonic FZ1000 scores compare:

Sony A7R III
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #10 out of 118 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #12 out of 1276 in all Cameras
Panasonic FZ1000
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #5 out of 113 in SLR-like (bridge) cameras
Ranked #212 out of 1276 in all Cameras

Sony A7R III is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Panasonic FZ1000 in all criteria. It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money

Sony A7R III
Sony A7R III
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Panasonic FZ1000
Panasonic FZ1000
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Panasonic FZ1000 vs Sony A7R III Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Alpha A7R III Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000
Brand Sony Panasonic
Announced 2017-10-25 2014-06-12
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Size Full frame 1″
Dimensions 35.9 x 24 mm 13.2 x 8.8 mm
Area 861.60mm2 116.16mm2
Megapixels 42 megapixels 20 megapixels
Max Resolution 7952 x 5304 5472 x 3648
Max Native Light sensitivity 32,000 ISO 12,800 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 102400 ISO 25600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 125 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity 50 ISO 80 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 425 49
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Sony E fixed lens
Lens Focal Range no lens 25-400 mm (16x)
Max Aperture no lens F2.8-4.0
Macro Focus Range no lens 3cm
Screen
Type Tilting Fully Articulated
Size 3.00" 3.00"
Resolution 1,440k dots 921k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution 3,686k dots 2,359k dots
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.78x 0.7x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift Optical
Built-in Flash
Flash Range no built-in flash 13.50 m (at Auto ISO)
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 10.0 fps 12.0 fps
Multi-Segment Metering
Average Metering
Spot Metering
Partial Metering
AF-Area Metering
Center Weighted Metering
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 3840x2160
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 657g 831g
Dimensions 127 x 96 x 74mm 137 x 99 x 131mm
Battery Life 650 shots 360 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 100 64
DxO Color Depth 26.0 22.1
DxO Dynamic Range 14.7 11.7
DxO Low Light ISO 3523 517
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