Lumix zs60 vs zs100 vs ?

adamsdp wrote:

I am debating about getting a new camera and/or upgrading my phone to get a better camera. I have a DSLR that I rarely carry on walks and would like something small that will fit in a pocket with a zoom for bird photography.

I was originally leaning towards the Lumix zs100 with it's 1" sensor and 10x zoom. It is about the only camera I have found small enough to fit in a pocket with a decent zoom and 1" sensor. The Lumix zs60k has a smaller sensor (1/2.3") but a wider zoom - 30x. The larger sensor of the zs100 seems to have more advantages than the wider zoom of the zs60 in general, but I am thinking that the long zoom of the zs60 will make it a better chioce for bird photography. From what I can gather in reading online, wide angle general purpose photos may come out better from a good phone camera than either of these choices so having the zs60 with it's long zoom may make better sense to complement a cell phone camera.

I don't have a lot of knowledge about cropping, but would cropping images from the zs100 to adjust for the difference in sensor size give the same magnification as from the zs60? If so, would there be disadvantages in doing this?

I will be upgrading my phone in the next year and read reviews of the Galaxy S21 which has three camera sensors - wide angle, 3x and 10x I believe. The broader question, I am wondering is whether either of these camera's are going to be enough of an improvement over a good cell phone camera to justify the purchase. It seems that the longer zooms will be the biggest advantage over a cell phone camera from what I know. Any advice will be appreciated!

If you are going 1” sensor don’t buy the ZS100, go ZS200, it’s the2nd generation and the zoom, handling and features are way in front of the ZS100.

If you shoot in good light the ZS60 is more than adequate for general photography and the handling and zoom range are better than a smartphone. Comments by previous posters about the ability to change settings in a smartphone are woefully misinformed though and there are loads of apps that give you full control over all the settings in a phone camera and then some. If you want a grip then there are many available,. I have an Adonit one but tend not to use it because I’ve adapted to holding a phone. You have to change the way you go about that if you are used to holding a camera. The big missing for birding or anything else really is an evf.

Bottom line, if you want to do any sort of wildlife shots, a ZS60 is way to go because it has 30x optical zoom and you need that for that job.

Dave