Panasonic FH1 vs Sony H400

Its time to examine more in depth at the Panasonic FH1 and Sony H400, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the resolutions of the FH1 (12MP) and H400 (20MP) but they possess the exact same sensor measurements (1/2.3").

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The FH1 was announced 5 years prior to the H400 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic FH1 being a Compact camera and the Sony H400 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before we go straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick view of how the FH1 scores against the H400 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic FH1 Gallery & Sony H400 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera regularly, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic FH1 comes with external measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 163 grams (0.36 lbs) while the Sony H400 has measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 122mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.8") having a weight of 628 grams (1.38 lbs).

Check the Panasonic FH1 and Sony H400 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the FH1 versus the H400.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the FH1 and H400 is 95 and 62 respectively.

More often than not, it's hard to envision the gap in sensor measurements just by viewing a spec sheet. The visual below will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the FH1 and H400.

As you can see, the two cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements but not the same resolution. You can anticipate the Sony H400 to render extra detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older FH1 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.