Panasonic FH6 vs Sony A850

The following is a complete comparison of the Panasonic FH6 and Sony A850, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There is a significant difference among the resolutions of the FH6 (14MP) and A850 (25MP) and the FH6 (1/2.3") and A850 (Full frame) use different sensor sizes.

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The FH6 was unveiled 22 months after the A850 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic FH6 being a Compact camera and the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving in to a in depth comparison, below is a quick view of how the FH6 scores vs the A850 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH6 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A850. The full galleries are available at Panasonic FH6 Gallery and Sony A850 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to travel with your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic FH6 offers outside dimensions of 96mm x 56mm x 20mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.8") with a weight of 119 grams (0.26 lbs) and the Sony A850 has measurements of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") along with a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic FH6 and Sony A850 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are working with at that moment. Underneath is the front view measurement comparison of the FH6 and the A850.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the FH6 and A850 is 96 and 54 respectively.

Often, it can be hard to visualize the contrast in sensor dimensions only by viewing a spec sheet. The image here might offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the FH6 and A850.

As you can see, both of those cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The FH6 having a smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field tougher and the Sony A850 will provide you with more detail having an extra 11 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics far more aggressively. The younger FH6 should have an edge in sensor innovation.