Panasonic FH8 vs Sony A300

On this page, we are contrasting the Panasonic FH8 and Sony A300, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There is a considerable difference among the sensor resolutions of the FH8 (16MP) and A300 (10MP) and the FH8 (1/2.3") and A300 (APS-C) provide different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The FH8 was launched 4 years later than the A300 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FH8 being a Compact camera and the Sony A300 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a thorough comparison, here is a brief summary of how the FH8 scores vs the A300 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH8 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A300. The complete galleries are viewable at Panasonic FH8 Gallery & Sony A300 Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera often, you'll have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FH8 comes with external measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 123 grams (0.27 lbs) and the Sony A300 has dimensions of 131mm x 99mm x 75mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") having a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

See the Panasonic FH8 and Sony A300 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are employing at the time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the FH8 vs the A300.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the FH8 and A300 is 96 and 64 respectively.

Usually, it is very tough to visualize the gap in sensor measurements simply by seeing a spec sheet. The photograph here will help provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the FH8 and A300.

As you can see, both of these cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FH8 due to its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field harder and the Panasonic FH8 will show greater detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop images a bit more aggressively. The younger FH8 provides an edge with regard to sensor technology.