Panasonic ZS100 Image Quality Comparison
The Panasonic ZS100 is currently in a class of its own offering a 10x zoom coupled to a 1"-type sensor in a compact "travel zoom" body. Below are crops from our laboratory Still Life target comparing its image quality to a range of point & shoot cameras with longer-than-average zoom lenses and a variety of different sensor sizes: the Canon G7X Mark II, Olympus Stylus 1, Panasonic FZ1000, Panasonic ZS60, and Sony RX10 II.
NOTE: These images are from best quality JPEGs straight out of the camera, at default settings including noise reduction and using the camera's actual base ISO (not extended ISO settings). Clicking any crop will take you to a carrier page where you can click once again to access the full resolution image as delivered straight from the camera. For those interested in working with the RAW files involved, click these links to visit each camera's respective sample image thumbnail page: Panasonic ZS100, Canon G7X II, Olympus Stylus 1, Panasonic FZ1000, Panasonic ZS60, and Sony RX10 II -- links to the RAW files appear beneath those for the JPEG images, wherever we have them. And remember, you can always go to our world-renowned Comparometer to compare the Panasonic ZS100 to any camera we've ever tested!
Panasonic ZS100 vs Canon G7X Mark II at Base ISO
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 125 | Canon G7X Mark II at ISO 125 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Olympus Stylus 1 at Base ISO
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 125 | Olympus Stylus 1 at ISO 100 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Panasonic FZ1000 at Base ISO
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 125 | Panasonic FZ1000 at ISO 125 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Panasonic ZS60 at Base ISO
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 125 | Panasonic ZS60 at ISO 80 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Sony RX10 II at Base ISO
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 125 | Sony RX10 II at ISO 100 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Canon G7X Mark II at ISO 1600
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 1600 | Canon G7X Mark II at ISO 1600 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Olympus Stylus 1 at ISO 1600
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 1600 | Olympus Stylus 1 at ISO 1600 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Panasonic FZ1000 at ISO 1600
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 1600 | Panasonic FZ1000 at ISO 1600 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Panasonic ZS60 at ISO 1600
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 1600 | Panasonic ZS60 at ISO 1600 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Sony RX10 II at ISO 1600
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 1600 | Sony RX10 II at ISO 1600 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Canon G7X Mark II at ISO 3200
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 3200 | Canon G7X Mark II at ISO 3200 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Olympus Stylus 1 at ISO 3200
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 3200 | Olympus Stylus 1 at ISO 3200 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Panasonic FZ1000 at ISO 3200
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 3200 | Panasonic FZ1000 at ISO 3200 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Panasonic ZS60 at ISO 3200
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 3200 | Panasonic ZS60 at ISO 3200 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs Sony RX10 II at ISO 3200
Panasonic ZS100 at ISO 3200 | Sony RX10 II at ISO 3200 |
Panasonic ZS100 vs. Canon G7X Mark II, Olympus Stylus 1, Panasonic FZ1000, Panasonic ZS60, Sony RX10 II
Panasonic ZS100 Print Quality Analysis
A good 20 x 30 inch print up to ISO 200; a good 8 x 10 inch print at ISO 1600 and a nice 4 x 6 at ISO 6400.
ISO 400 requires a reduction in size to 16 x 20 inches. Contrast detail is now somewhat low in our tricky Still Life target red-leaf swatch, a common phenomenon at slightly higher ISOs, but generally not so low at this sensitivity. But otherwise this size print looks good at this ISO.
ISO 800 shots almost pass our "good" seal of approval at 13 x 19 inches, and are fine for less critical purposes. In order to pass our good grade you'll need to stick with 11 x 14 inches and smaller at this gain setting.
ISO 1600 images look good at 8 x 10 inches. All contrast detail is now lost in our red-leaf swatch, and there's a trace of mild noise apparent in a few flatter areas of our target such as in the shadows, but saturation, fine detail and contrast are still fairly good at this size.
ISO 3200 yields a good 5 x 7 inch print, suffering only similar minor issues such as the ones seen in the 8 x 10 inch print at ISO 1600, but otherwise produces a usable print. Anything larger simply looks too muted and lacks "pop" here.
ISO 6400 delivers a good 4 x 6 inch print. Larger prints are a bit too flat and muted to be usable for anything but less critical applications.
ISO 12,800/25,600 produce prints that are simply too flat and scorched looking to pass our good grade, and these gain settings are not recommended for printing purposes.
The Panasonic ZS100 does a fair job in the print quality department, but it's not quite in the same league as some of the other popular 1-inch sensored cameras. The Panasonic FZ1000 performs better at base ISO up to ISO 400, and both the Sony RX10 II and the RX100 IV perform better by roughly a print size across most of the available ISO spectrum. It appears that in order to achieve a 10x lens in such a small package, some optical performance was sacrificed in the trade-off. But with all that said, if you keep the gain setting to ISO 1600 and below you'll still be assured of good 8 x 10 inch prints across the board. Like most smaller cameras that can grant so much zoom range, compromises are inevitable, so it's up to your own needs to determine if zoom range is more important than the ability to print larger prints.
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