Panasonic FH1 vs Sony NEX-3N

Its time to look closer at the Panasonic FH1 and Sony NEX-3N, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Panasonic and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the sensor resolutions of the FH1 (12MP) and NEX-3N (16MP) and the FH1 (1/2.3") and NEX-3N (APS-C) feature totally different sensor size.

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The FH1 was announced 4 years before the NEX-3N and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic FH1 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-3N being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going in to a in depth comparison, below is a short summation of how the FH1 grades versus the NEX-3N in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1 & Sony Alpha NEX-3N. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic FH1 Gallery & Sony NEX-3N Gallery.

In case you're aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to take into account its weight and measurements. The Panasonic FH1 has got outer measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 163 grams (0.36 lbs) while the Sony NEX-3N has proportions of 110mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.4") along with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

See the Panasonic FH1 and Sony NEX-3N in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you select at the time. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the FH1 and the NEX-3N.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the FH1 and NEX-3N is 95 and 89 respectively.

Often, it can be hard to envision the contrast between sensor measurements simply by going over technical specs. The photograph below will provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the FH1 and NEX-3N.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The FH1 having a tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony NEX-3N will offer you greater detail with its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will help you crop images much more aggressively. The older FH1 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.