Panasonic FH3 vs Sony A37

Its time to take a deeper look at the Panasonic FH3 versus Sony A37, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Sony. The image resolution of the FH3 (14MP) and the A37 (16MP) is very comparable but the FH3 (1/2.3") and A37 (APS-C) provide different sensor measurements.

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The FH3 was released 3 years earlier than the A37 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FH3 being a Compact camera and the Sony A37 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a in depth comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the FH3 scores against the A37 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH3 & Sony SLT-A37. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic FH3 Gallery & Sony A37 Gallery.

When you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you should take into account its weight and measurements. The Panasonic FH3 has got exterior dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 24mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 165 grams (0.36 lbs) whilst the Sony A37 has proportions of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") with a weight of 506 grams (1.12 lbs).

Compare the Panasonic FH3 versus Sony A37 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Below is a front view measurements comparison of the FH3 against the A37.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the FH3 and A37 is 94 and 67 respectively.

Quite often, it is very difficult to imagine the difference in sensor measurements purely by seeing a spec sheet. The graphic below might provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the FH3 and A37.

As you can see, both the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The FH3 because of its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more difficult and the Sony A37 will produce extra detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The older FH3 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.