Olympus 6000 vs Panasonic FS42

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus 6000 versus Panasonic FS42, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Ultracompact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the 6000 (10MP) and the FS42 (10MP) is very well matched but the 6000 (1/2.3") and FS42 (1/2.5") boast totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The 6000 was revealed 3 months after the FS42 which means that they are of a similar generation. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus 6000 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FS42 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before getting into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the 6000 grades vs the FS42 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42. The full galleries are available at Olympus 6000 Gallery and Panasonic FS42 Gallery.

If you are planning to carry around your camera regularly, you should think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus 6000 has outer dimensions of 95mm x 63mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.5" x 0.9") with a weight of 179 grams (0.39 lbs) while the Panasonic FS42 has proportions of 98mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 132 grams (0.29 lbs).

See the Olympus 6000 versus Panasonic FS42 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are working with at that moment. Following is a front view scale comparison of the 6000 versus the FS42.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the 6000 and FS42 is 94 and 95 respectively.

Typically, its hard to visualise the contrast between sensor sizes purely by reading through technical specs. The image here will provide you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the 6000 and FS42.

As you can tell, the two cameras have the same megapixels but not the same sensor sizes. The 6000 provides the larger sensor which will make obtaining shallow DOF less difficult.