Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A230
96 Imaging
39 Features
31 Overall
35
69 Imaging
50 Features
40 Overall
46
Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A230 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 2.7" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 28-112mm (F3.1-6.5) lens
- 121g - 94 x 54 x 19mm
- Released January 2011
- Other Name is Lumix DMC-FS18
(Full Review)
Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A230 Overview
Lets take a closer look at the Panasonic FH5 versus Sony A230, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the FH5 (16MP) and A230 (10MP) and the FH5 (1/2.3") and A230 (APS-C) possess different sensor dimensions.
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a LandslideThe FH5 was unveiled 20 months later than the A230 which makes the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic FH5 being a Compact camera and the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera.
Before diving through a thorough comparison, below is a simple view of how the FH5 scores against the A230 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.
Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A230 Gallery
Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. The full galleries are available at Panasonic FH5 Gallery & Sony A230 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Panasonic FH5 over the Sony A230
FH5 | A230 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | January 2011 | May 2009 | Fresher by 20 months |
Reasons to pick Sony A230 over the Panasonic FH5
A230 | FH5 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | Dial exact focus |
Common features in the Panasonic FH5 and Sony A230
FH5 | A230 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed screen | |
Screen sizing | 2.7" | 2.7" | Equivalent screen sizing | |
Screen resolution | 230k | 230k | Identical screen resolution | |
Selfie screen | No selfie screen | |||
Touch friendly screen | No Touch friendly screen |
Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A230 Physical Comparison
If you're intending to carry your camera often, you'll need to think about its weight and volume. The Panasonic FH5 provides exterior dimensions of 94mm x 54mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") having a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs) and the Sony A230 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") along with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs).
Contrast the Panasonic FH5 versus Sony A230 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have chosen at that time. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the FH5 against the A230.
Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the FH5 and A230 is 96 and 69 respectively.
Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A230 Sensor Comparison
Oftentimes, it's hard to visualize the difference between sensor sizing just by checking specs. The graphic here should give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the FH5 and A230.
All in all, both of the cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The FH5 with its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Panasonic FH5 will give you more detail having an extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures far more aggressively. The newer FH5 provides an advantage with regard to sensor technology.
Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A230 Screen and ViewFinder
Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
Street Comparison
Sports Comparison
Travel Comparison
Landscape Comparison
Vlogging Comparison
Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A230 Specifications
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5 | Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Company | Panasonic | Sony |
Model | Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5 | Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 |
Also called | Lumix DMC-FS18 | - |
Category | Small Sensor Compact | Entry-Level DSLR |
Released | 2011-01-05 | 2009-05-18 |
Body design | Compact | Compact SLR |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor | Venus Engine IV | Bionz |
Sensor type | CCD | CCD |
Sensor size | 1/2.3" | APS-C |
Sensor dimensions | 6.08 x 4.56mm | 23.5 x 15.7mm |
Sensor area | 27.7mm² | 369.0mm² |
Sensor resolution | 16 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Peak resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 3872 x 2592 |
Highest native ISO | 6400 | 3200 |
Minimum native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW pictures | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focus | ||
Autofocus touch | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Autofocus center weighted | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detect autofocus | ||
Contract detect autofocus | ||
Phase detect autofocus | ||
Number of focus points | 11 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount | fixed lens | Sony/Minolta Alpha |
Lens focal range | 28-112mm (4.0x) | - |
Largest aperture | f/3.1-6.5 | - |
Macro focus range | 5cm | - |
Available lenses | - | 143 |
Focal length multiplier | 5.9 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Range of display | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display diagonal | 2.7 inches | 2.7 inches |
Resolution of display | 230k dot | 230k dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch capability | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | None | Optical (pentamirror) |
Viewfinder coverage | - | 95 percent |
Viewfinder magnification | - | 0.55x |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 60 seconds | 30 seconds |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/1600 seconds | 1/4000 seconds |
Continuous shutter speed | 4.0 frames/s | 3.0 frames/s |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | - | Yes |
Set white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash range | 3.30 m | 10.00 m |
Flash options | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Wireless |
External flash | ||
AEB | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Fastest flash sync | - | 1/160 seconds |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) | - |
Highest video resolution | 1280x720 | None |
Video file format | Motion JPEG | - |
Mic input | ||
Headphone input | ||
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 | 121g (0.27 lbs) | 490g (1.08 lbs) |
Dimensions | 94 x 54 x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") | 128 x 97 x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall score | not tested | 63 |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | 22.3 |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | 11.4 |
DXO Low light score | not tested | 531 |
Other | ||
Battery life | 260 photographs | 230 photographs |
Form of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery model | - | NP-FH50 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 10 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Storage media | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal | SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo |
Storage slots | 1 | 1 |
Retail price | $169 | $569 |