Olympus 8000 vs Panasonic FP7

Let's take a more detailed look at the Olympus 8000 and Panasonic FP7, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Ultracompact by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There is a big difference between the image resolutions of the 8000 (12MP) and FP7 (16MP) but they use the exact same sensor size (1/2.3").

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The 8000 was manufactured 18 months before the FP7 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus 8000 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic FP7 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before delving through a complete comparison, below is a quick summary of how the 8000 matches up versus the FP7 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP7. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus 8000 Gallery and Panasonic FP7 Gallery.

If you are aiming to lug around your camera, you're going to have to factor its weight and size. The Olympus 8000 provides outer dimensions of 95mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") having a weight of 182 grams (0.40 lbs) while the Panasonic FP7 has specifications of 101mm x 59mm x 18mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 0.7") with a weight of 147 grams (0.32 lbs).

Compare the Olympus 8000 and Panasonic FP7 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you select at that moment. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the 8000 vs the FP7.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the 8000 and FP7 is 94 and 95 respectively.

Often, it's tough to visualise the gap between sensor measurements purely by reviewing specs. The graphic here should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the 8000 and FP7.

All in all, both cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements but not the same resolution. You should expect to see the Panasonic FP7 to deliver more detail due to its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older 8000 is going to be behind in sensor tech.