Panasonic FH20 vs Sony a5000

Below is a detailed analysis of the Panasonic FH20 and Sony a5000, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the resolutions of the FH20 (14MP) and a5000 (20MP) and the FH20 (1/2.3") and a5000 (APS-C) posses different sensor measurements.

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The FH20 was announced 5 years before the a5000 and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FH20 being a Compact camera and the Sony a5000 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving straight to a detailed comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the FH20 matches up against the a5000 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 & Sony Alpha a5000. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic FH20 Gallery & Sony a5000 Gallery.

In case you're aiming to lug around your camera, you should take into account its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FH20 comes with physical dimensions of 100mm x 56mm x 28mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.1") along with a weight of 178 grams (0.39 lbs) and the Sony a5000 has dimensions of 110mm x 63mm x 36mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.4") and a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

See the Panasonic FH20 and Sony a5000 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you select at that time. Following is a front view size comparison of the FH20 versus the a5000.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the FH20 and a5000 is 93 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it is very hard to visualize the difference between sensor measurements only by reading specifications. The visual below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the FH20 and a5000.

Plainly, the two cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FH20 having a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field more challenging and the Sony a5000 will offer you greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older FH20 is going to be behind in sensor tech.