Olympus SH-1 vs Panasonic FS12

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus SH-1 and Panasonic FS12, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Ultracompact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There is a substantial difference between the resolutions of the SH-1 (16MP) and FS12 (12MP) but they use the same exact sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The SH-1 was unveiled 5 years later than the FS12 and that is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus SH-1 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FS12 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go in to a more detailed comparison, below is a brief summary of how the SH-1 grades against the FS12 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus SH-1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12. The full galleries are available at Olympus SH-1 Gallery & Panasonic FS12 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus SH-1 comes with outside measurements of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FS12 has measurements of 97mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 129 grams (0.28 lbs).

See the Olympus SH-1 and Panasonic FS12 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you select at that moment. Underneath is the front view measurement comparison of the SH-1 vs the FS12.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the SH-1 and FS12 is 88 and 95 respectively.

Oftentimes, its difficult to picture the difference between sensor measurements purely by going over specs. The visual here might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the SH-1 and FS12.

All in all, the two cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing albeit different megapixels. You can count on the Olympus SH-1 to deliver more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop photographs a little more aggressively. The newer SH-1 provides an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.