Panasonic FH27 vs Sony A500

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.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH27 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic FH27 Gallery & Sony A500 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.