Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A350

Its time to look a little more closely at the Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A350, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Panasonic and Sony. The resolution of the FH5 (16MP) and the A350 (14MP) is very well matched but the FH5 (1/2.3") and A350 (APS-C) enjoy different sensor sizes.

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The FH5 was revealed 2 years after the A350 which is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic FH5 being a Compact camera and the Sony A350 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving in to a detailed comparison, below is a simple view of how the FH5 scores versus the A350 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A350. The full galleries are available at Panasonic FH5 Gallery & Sony A350 Gallery.

For those who are going to carry around your camera, you have to factor its weight and volume. The Panasonic FH5 provides external measurements of 94mm x 54mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.1" x 0.7") with a weight of 121 grams (0.27 lbs) whilst the Sony A350 has sizing of 131mm x 99mm x 75mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") along with a weight of 674 grams (1.49 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic FH5 vs Sony A350 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 are working with during that time. The following is the front view overall size comparison of the FH5 compared to the A350.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the FH5 and A350 is 96 and 62 respectively.

Generally, it's hard to imagine the gap between sensor sizes simply by looking at technical specs. The pic below may give you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the FH5 and A350.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The FH5 using its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF more challenging and the Panasonic FH5 will give you extra detail because of its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The younger FH5 provides a benefit with regard to sensor technology.