Panasonic FH3 vs Sony A200

Let's look a little more in depth at the Panasonic FH3 and Sony A200, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Panasonic and Sony. There is a big difference among the resolutions of the FH3 (14MP) and A200 (10MP) and the FH3 (1/2.3") and A200 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The FH3 was brought out 18 months after the A200 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic FH3 being a Compact camera and the Sony A200 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting in to a detailed comparison, below is a concise overview of how the FH3 grades versus the A200 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH3 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A200. The entire galleries are viewable at Panasonic FH3 Gallery and Sony A200 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to travel with your camera frequently, you will want to factor in its weight and measurements. The Panasonic FH3 has outer measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 24mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 165 grams (0.36 lbs) whilst the Sony A200 has proportions of 131mm x 99mm x 71mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 2.8") with a weight of 572 grams (1.26 lbs).

Check the Panasonic FH3 and Sony A200 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you use during that time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the FH3 against the A200.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the FH3 and A200 is 94 and 66 respectively.

Generally, its difficult to visualise the gap in sensor dimensions just by checking out specs. The image here will give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the FH3 and A200.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The FH3 because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Panasonic FH3 will provide more detail having its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos much more aggressively. The more recent FH3 will have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.