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Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3

Portability
96
Imaging
39
Features
32
Overall
36
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 front
Portability
90
Imaging
48
Features
48
Overall
48

Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 Key Specs

Panasonic FH8
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-120mm (F2.5-6.4) lens
  • 123g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Released January 2012
Panasonic GF3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 160 - 6400
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 264g - 108 x 67 x 32mm
  • Released August 2011
  • Superseded the Panasonic GF2
  • Successor is Panasonic GF5
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Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 Overview

Its time to look more closely at the Panasonic FH8 versus Panasonic GF3, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both are designed by Panasonic. There exists a noticeable gap between the image resolutions of the FH8 (16MP) and GF3 (12MP) and the FH8 (1/2.3") and GF3 (Four Thirds) offer different sensor size.

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The FH8 was introduced 6 months after the GF3 and they are of a similar age. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FH8 being a Compact camera and the Panasonic GF3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight to a thorough comparison, here is a concise synopsis of how the FH8 grades against the GF3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FH8 over the Panasonic GF3

 FH8 GF3 

Reasons to pick Panasonic GF3 over the Panasonic FH8

 GF3 FH8 
Focus manually Very precise focus
Display resolution460k230kClearer display (+230k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Panasonic FH8 and Panasonic GF3

 FH8 GF3 
ReleasedJanuary 2012August 2011Similar age
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display size
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen

Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is going to travel with your camera, you need to factor in its weight and volume. The Panasonic FH8 features outside dimensions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") along with a weight of 123 grams (0.27 lbs) while the Panasonic GF3 has sizing of 108mm x 67mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.3") with a weight of 264 grams (0.58 lbs).

See the Panasonic FH8 versus Panasonic GF3 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you select at the time. Following is a front view scale comparison of the FH8 and the GF3.

Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FH8 and GF3 is 96 and 90 respectively.

Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is difficult to visualize the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by looking at a spec sheet. The pic below should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the FH8 and GF3.

Clearly, each of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The FH8 having a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Panasonic FH8 will resolve extra detail using its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics a bit more aggressively.

Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 sensor size comparison

Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FH8 as a Portrait photography camera
Panasonic GF3 as a Portrait photography camera
34
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
comes with face detect autofocus
manual focus not available
lack of manual exposure
cannot use external flash
small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
55
you can focus manually
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has face detection autofocus
exports RAW formats
can't use external flash
low MP (12 megapixels)
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Street Comparison

Panasonic FH8 as a Street photography camera
Panasonic GF3 as a Street photography camera
63
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition (123 grams)
screen is fixed
small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
70
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
supports touch focus
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic FH8 Sports photography advice
Panasonic GF3 Sports photography advice
40
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
comes with tracking focus
continuous shooting slow (1.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority mode
small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
38
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
low MP (12 megapixels)
bad battery power (300 CIPA)
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic FH8 Travel photography features
Panasonic GF3 Travel photography features
69
lighter than competition (123 grams)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (24mm)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
does not feature selfie friendly screen
slow maximum aperture (f2.5)
58
supports touch focus
built-in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
bad battery power (300 CIPA)
low MP (12MP)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic FH8 Landscape photography information
Panasonic GF3 Landscape photography information
43
reasonably wide (24mm)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.5)
lack of manual exposure
small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
doesn't have Timelapse mode
55
you can focus manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
low MP (12MP)
bad battery power (300 per charge)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic FH8 Vlogging highlights
Panasonic GF3 Vlogging highlights
33
reasonably wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detect autofocus
lighter than competition (123g)
slow maximum aperture (f2.5)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have microphone port
32
touch screen
has face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
doesn't have external mic port
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Panasonic FH8 vs Panasonic GF3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FH8 and Panasonic GF3
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3
General Information
Company Panasonic Panasonic
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3
Type Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level Mirrorless
Released 2012-01-09 2011-08-11
Body design Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip - Venus Engine FHD
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Four Thirds
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 17.3 x 13mm
Sensor area 27.7mm² 224.9mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Highest native ISO 6400 6400
Minimum native ISO 100 160
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 23 23
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens zoom range 24-120mm (5.0x) -
Maximal aperture f/2.5-6.4 -
Macro focusing distance 4cm -
Amount of lenses - 107
Crop factor 5.9 2.1
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 230k dot 460k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen technology TFT Color LCD TFT Color LCD with wide-viewing angle
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 8 secs 60 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/1600 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 1.0 frames per sec 3.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 5.60 m 6.30 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720p (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4 AVCHD, Motion JPEG
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 123 grams (0.27 lbs) 264 grams (0.58 lbs)
Physical dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 108 x 67 x 32mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 50
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 20.6
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 10.1
DXO Low light rating not tested 459
Other
Battery life 260 shots 300 shots
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec (3 images))
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at launch $149 $360