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Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500

Portability
94
Imaging
39
Features
34
Overall
37
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH27 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 front
Portability
63
Imaging
52
Features
52
Overall
52

Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 Key Specs

Panasonic FH27
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-224mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 152g - 99 x 57 x 28mm
  • Revealed January 2011
Sony A500
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 630g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Revealed August 2009
  • Newer Model is Sony A560
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Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 Overview

Let's take a deeper look at the Panasonic FH27 and Sony A500, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the FH27 (16MP) and A500 (12MP) and the FH27 (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) offer different sensor dimensions.

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The FH27 was brought out 17 months later than the A500 which makes them a generation apart from one another. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FH27 being a Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a brief summation of how the FH27 scores vs the A500 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FH27 over the Sony A500

 FH27 A500 
RevealedJanuary 2011August 2009Fresher by 17 months
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Panasonic FH27

 A500 FH27 
Manually focus Very accurate focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen

Common features in the Panasonic FH27 and Sony A500

 FH27 A500 
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen sizing
Screen resolution230k230kEqual screen resolution
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen

Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 Physical Comparison

For those who are going to carry your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and proportions. The Panasonic FH27 provides external measurements of 99mm x 57mm x 28mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.1") along with a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) whilst the Sony A500 has measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic FH27 and Sony A500 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the FH27 compared to the A500.

Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FH27 and A500 is 94 and 63 respectively.

Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it's hard to picture the difference in sensor sizing purely by researching a spec sheet. The graphic underneath should give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the FH27 and A500.

Clearly, each of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The FH27 because of its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more difficult and the Panasonic FH27 will render more detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop shots more aggressively. The fresher FH27 should have an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.

Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 sensor size comparison

Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FH27 Portrait photography information
Sony A500 Portrait photography information
34
decent MP (16 megapixels)
comes with face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
lack of manual mode
external flash not possible
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
63
manual focus
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
comes with face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
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Street Comparison

Panasonic FH27 Street photography advice
Sony A500 Street photography advice
63
built in image stabilization (Optical)
boasts touch to focus
no articulating screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
74
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
exports RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic FH27 Sports photography highlights
Sony A500 Sports photography highlights
40
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (16MP)
comes with tracking focus
slow frames per second (4.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect AF
51
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
continuous shooting slow (5.0 frames per second)
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
bad battery power (520 shots)
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Panasonic FH27
Travel photography with Sony A500
68
boasts touch to focus
decent MP (16MP)
flash built-in
rather wide (28mm)
missing Timelapse recording
screen isn't selfie friendly
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
43
flash built-in
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
bad battery power (520 per charge)
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic FH27 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony A500 as a Landscape photography camera
43
rather wide (28mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (16MP)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
lack of manual mode
sensor is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
missing Timelapse recording
60
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen is a decent size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
exports RAW files
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
bad battery power (520 per charge)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic FH27 Vlogging factors
Sony A500 Vlogging factors
32
rather wide (28mm)
touchscreen functionality
built in image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detect focusing
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
screen isn't selfie friendly
low res video (1280 x 720 resolution)
missing microphone support
9
no video shooting
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Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FH27 and Sony A500
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH27Sony Alpha DSLR-A500
General Information
Make Panasonic Sony
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH27 Sony Alpha DSLR-A500
Type Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Revealed 2011-01-05 2009-08-27
Body design Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine VI Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 27.7mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 12MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio - 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 4272 x 2848
Maximum native ISO 6400 12800
Min native ISO 100 200
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 11 9
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 28-224mm (8.0x) -
Highest aperture f/3.3-5.9 -
Macro focus range 5cm -
Amount of lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.9 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen technology TFT Touch Screen LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.53x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/1600s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting speed 4.0 frames/s 5.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 5.80 m 12.00 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (24 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) -
Maximum video resolution 1280x720 None
Video file format Motion JPEG -
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 152g (0.34 lb) 630g (1.39 lb)
Physical dimensions 99 x 57 x 28mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.1") 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 64
DXO Color Depth score not tested 21.8
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 11.6
DXO Low light score not tested 772
Other
Battery life 250 photos 520 photos
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Launch cost $229 $638