Panasonic F5 vs Sony A230

Its time to look much closer at the Panasonic F5 versus Sony A230, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the F5 (14MP) and A230 (10MP) and the F5 (1/2.3") and A230 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizing.

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The F5 was announced 3 years after the A230 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic F5 being a Compact camera and the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving in to a in depth comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the F5 scores versus the A230 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-F5 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic F5 Gallery & Sony A230 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry around your camera often, you should factor in its weight and volume. The Panasonic F5 features physical measurements of 97mm x 58mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.3" x 0.9") along with a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs) and the Sony A230 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs).

See the Panasonic F5 versus Sony A230 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you choose at that time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the F5 versus the A230.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the F5 and A230 is 96 and 69 respectively.

Normally, it's tough to visualize the difference in sensor sizes merely by going through specs. The image underneath will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the F5 and A230.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The F5 having a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF trickier and the Panasonic F5 will show extra detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs much more aggressively. The more recent F5 provides an edge when it comes to sensor tech.