Panasonic FH20 vs Sony A700

Here, we will be contrasting the Panasonic FH20 vs Sony A700, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Sony. The sensor resolution of the FH20 (14MP) and the A700 (12MP) is pretty similar but the FH20 (1/2.3") and A700 (APS-C) have totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The FH20 was released 2 years later than the A700 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FH20 being a Compact camera and the Sony A700 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving right into a in depth comparison, here is a short overview of how the FH20 scores vs the A700 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A700. The complete galleries are viewable at Panasonic FH20 Gallery and Sony A700 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to lug around your camera frequently, you should factor its weight and proportions. The Panasonic FH20 comes with external dimensions of 100mm x 56mm x 28mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.1") with a weight of 178 grams (0.39 lbs) while the Sony A700 has measurements of 142mm x 105mm x 80mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.1") accompanied by a weight of 768 grams (1.69 lbs).

See the Panasonic FH20 vs Sony A700 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at that moment. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the FH20 against the A700.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the FH20 and A700 is 93 and 58 respectively.

In many cases, it can be difficult to see the gap between sensor measurements purely by reading specs. The graphic here should give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the FH20 and A700.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FH20 because of its tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Panasonic FH20 will offer you more detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop photographs way more aggressively. The more modern FH20 will have an edge in sensor technology.