Panasonic FP3 vs GH3: An Expert Comparison to Guide Your Next Camera Purchase

When faced with cameras as different as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP3 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3, deciding which one suits your photography needs can feel daunting. Both hail from respected Lumix lineages but serve decidedly distinct purposes - one an ultracompact point-and-shoot from 2010, the other a 2012 era advanced mirrorless for enthusiasts and pros alike. Drawing on my extensive hands-on experience testing thousands of digital cameras, steady industry benchmarks, and practical real-world trials, this article dives deep into this pair. My goal: to cut through specs to uncover which will best support your photography journey, whether casual snapshots, demanding professional work, or specialized genres.

Let’s explore these cameras side-by-side across design, technology, photographic disciplines, workflows, and value, with clear recommendations tailored to various user types.

First Impressions: Size, Build, and Handling

Ergonomics often make or break a shooting experience. The Panasonic FP3 is a tiny ultracompact weighing just 155g, designed to slip into your pocket. Its physical dimensions of 99x59x19 mm make it ultra-portable. Conversely, the GH3 is a substantially heftier advanced mirrorless with an SLR-esque body weighing 550g and measuring 133x93x82 mm.

FP3 Pros:

• Ultra-lightweight and pocketable - ideal for travel or everyday carry.
• Minimalist body design easy for casual shooters or street photographers prioritizing stealth.
• Simple, fixed lens reduces fiddling and lens changes.

GH3 Pros:

• Chunky, robust build with weather sealing - reliable for challenging environments like hiking or shooting outdoors in harsh conditions.
• Mode dials and a wealth of physical controls enable quick setting adjustments without menu dives.
• Larger grip and solid heft improve stability with longer lenses and handheld shooting.

Despite the size difference, the GH3’s fully articulated OLED touchscreen and a high-res electronic viewfinder (EVF) grant tremendous flexibility, especially in composition and manual focusing. The FP3’s fixed 3-inch 230k-dot touchscreen is fixed and basic by comparison, lacking an EVF entirely.

Sensor and Image Quality: From Basic snapshots to Creative control

The FP3 sports a traditional 1/2.3 inch CCD sensor, common in compact cameras of its era, with 14 megapixels. Its small sensor area of just ~27.7mm² limits dynamic range, low-light performance, and depth of field control. Contrastingly, the GH3 employs a significantly larger Four Thirds CMOS sensor (approx. 225mm²) with 16MP resolution, dramatically elevating potential image quality.

FP3 Advantages:

• CCDs typically offer pleasant color rendition but can be noisy at high ISO.
• Native ISO 80–6400 provides flexibility, but optimal quality peaks at base ISO due to sensor constraints.

GH3 Advantages:

• CMOS sensor delivers superior dynamic range (about 12.4 EV stops as per DxO), low noise (ISO up to 12800), and color depth.
• Supports raw capture for maximum post-processing latitude.
• Larger sensor enables more creative control over depth of field, crucial for portrait and macro work.

In practical testing, the FP3’s JPG images capture decent daylight shots but struggle in dimmer conditions, producing muddy shadows and limited detail retention in highlights. The GH3’s files, in contrast, retain texture and gradation smoothly even in challenging light.

Autofocus and Performance: Precision and Speed in the Field

Speed and accuracy of autofocus are vital across disciplines, especially wildlife, sports, and street photography where decisive moments matter. The FP3’s contrast-detection AF system with nine focus points offers limited precision and notably slow acquisition. No face or eye detection is available, constraining its effectiveness for portrait subjects.

The GH3 advances to 23 focus points with face detection, continuous AF, AF tracking, and selective AF modes. Though lacking phase-detection, its optimized contrast-detection provides surprisingly fast, reliable AF performance in live view and video. This allows photographers to confidently track subjects and compose in dynamic environments.

In real-use bursts, the FP3 manages a max continuous shooting rate of 5 frames per second, sufficient for casual action but limited for sports. The GH3 supports an explosive 20 fps burst mode (with electronic shutter), catering well even to enthusiastic sports and wildlife shooters.

LCD and Viewfinder: Composing Your World

The FP3 has a basic 3-inch fixed LCD with 230k dots resolution. It does support touchscreen operation, easing menu navigation, but the display lacks articulation or high resolution.

The GH3’s 3-inch fully articulated OLED screen with 614k dots resolution allows flexible framing - from waist level to awkward overhead shots - vital for macro, video, and creative angles. Its high-resolution OLED boosts clarity and color accuracy. Most notably, the GH3 includes a bright 1.74MP EVF with 100% coverage and 0.67x magnification, providing a natural, lag-free shooting experience in bright conditions where LCDs struggle.

For those habituated to composing through a viewfinder or seeking precision framing in bright daylight, the GH3’s EVF is a decisive advantage.

Exploring Major Photography Genres: How Each Camera Performs in Practice

Let's now assess how these cameras stand in various photography types, emphasizing their practical suitability.

Portrait Photography

Portraiture demands subtle skin tone rendering, pleasing bokeh, and ideally eye detection autofocus:

• FP3: Fixed zoom lens from 35-140mm equivalent offers some framing flexibility but the small sensor yields limited background separation and often harsh depth of field. No face/eye AF means manual attention to focus.
• GH3: Compatible with Micro Four Thirds lens ecosystem including fast primes with wide apertures for creamy bokeh. Face detection AF improves sharpness on eyes automatically, aiding consistent portraits.

Landscape Photography

Dynamic range, resolution, and weather resistance matter for landscapes:

• FP3: Compact size encourages outdoor shoots, but limited dynamic range and relatively low resolution constrain large prints or detail retention in shadow/highlight extremes.
• GH3: Wide dynamic range, better low-light capability, 16MP resolution for fine detail, and weather sealing make it ideal for serious landscape photographers.

Wildlife and Sports Photography

Tracking moving subjects requires fast AF and burst rates:

• FP3: AF speed and continuous shooting are basic; lens zoom range is short, limiting close-up wildlife shots.
• GH3: Fast AF with tracking, 20 fps burst, and access to super-telephoto lenses make it suited for wildlife and sports enthusiasts on a budget.

Street Photography

Discretion, responsiveness, and portability top the list:

• FP3: Truly pocketable and unobtrusive - perfect for street photographers valuing a stealthy setup.
• GH3: Chunkier but quick AF and better image quality; less discreet but excellent in low-light.

Macro Photography

Requires close focusing, magnification, and stabilization:

• FP3: Macro focus down to 10cm but no image stabilization in the lens; fixed zoom limits lens options.
• GH3: Supports a variety of dedicated macro lenses and offers sensor stabilization in compatible lenses, enhancing shooting ease.

Night and Astrophotography

High ISO performance and exposure control crucial:

• FP3: Max ISO 6400 but noisy files limit night usability.
• GH3: ISO up to 12800 and manual exposure modes favor night landscapes and astrophotography.

Video Capabilities

Videographers need resolution, frame rates, and audio options:

• FP3: 720p HD at 30fps maximum, simple video format (Motion JPEG), and no external mic port cap flexibility.
• GH3: Full HD 1080p up to 60fps, multiple codecs (AVCHD/MPEG-4), external mic and headphone jacks facilitate professional audio control.

Travel Photography

Key factors: size, versatility, and battery life:

• FP3: Superb pocketability but limited zoom and slower AF create tradeoffs.
• GH3: Bulkier but outstanding battery life, lens versatility, and weather sealing answer the demands of extensive travel.

Professional Work

Reliability, file formats, and workflow integration decide value here:

• FP3: No raw support and limited control make it unsuitable for pro assignments.
• GH3: Supports raw, extensive exposure mode control, solid build, and can integrate well into professional workflows.

Technical Deep Dive: Evaluating Core Components

Sensor Technology

The GH3’s CMOS sensor coupled with Venus Engine VII processor offers superior noise reduction, color fidelity, and dynamic range versus the older CCD and IV processor combo in the FP3. This translates directly to image quality benefits and highlights the generational gap.

Autofocus System

Advanced contrast-detection with 23 points and face detect in GH3 delivers solid accuracy and speed, compared to the modest 9-point AF in FP3 with no tracking. The latter’s AF is best for stationary subjects.

Build Quality and Weather Resistance

The GH3 features robust weather sealing, which while not frostproof or waterproof, safeguards from dust and moisture - a boon for outdoor shooting. The FP3 is basic with no sealing or rugged features.

Interface and Controls

The GH3’s physical dials and illuminated touch screen streamline shooting in varied conditions, while the FP3 relies more on menu navigation and fewer direct controls.

Lens Compatibility

FP3’s built-in lens fixes zoom and aperture range. GH3’s Micro Four Thirds mount opens access to over 100 lenses, from primes to specialized optics - a massive advantage for versatility.

Battery and Storage

GH3’s battery life rated at 540 shots per charge provides ample shooting headroom. FP3 details are sparse but ultracompacts often have shorter longevity requiring carry spares. Both support SD cards, but GH3’s higher performance necessitates faster cards for video.

Connectivity

GH3 incorporates wireless connectivity for image transfer and remote operation; FP3 offers none.

Image Samples and Performance Scores

To see the practical image quality and versatility, here are sample shots from both cameras under varying conditions.

Panasonic FP3 front Panasonic FP3 screen back Panasonic GH3 front Panasonic GH3 screen back

An aggregated performance score comparison clearly favors the GH3 across most metrics, reflecting its advanced design and technology:

Genre-specific strengths are also informational here, highlighting FP3’s convenience in street and travel, but GH3’s dominance in video, landscape, portraits, and low-light:

Summarizing Pros and Cons

Who Should Choose Which Camera?

• Choose the Panasonic FP3 if:

  • You want an easy-to-use, lightweight pocket camera for casual everyday shooting.
  • Portability and simplicity outweigh the need for advanced controls or image quality.
  • Budget is a primary concern - the FP3 remains a low-cost option.
  • You shoot mostly in good light and want instant, point-and-shoot convenience.

• Choose the Panasonic GH3 if:

  • You are an enthusiast or pro seeking superior image quality and creative control.
  • You value interchangeable lenses and comprehensive manual settings.
  • Video recording capability is important to your workflow.
  • You shoot in varied or challenging environments needing weather resistance.
  • You require a camera that grows with your skills and diverse photographic interests.

Final Thoughts: Practical Guidance from Experienced Hands

Both the Panasonic FP3 and GH3 reflect solid design philosophies within their classes and eras. The FP3 embodies compact convenience but inevitably bears limitations inherited from its sensor size and age. Meanwhile, the GH3’s advanced mirrorless architecture delivers performance and flexibility that justified its professional-aspiring target market.

In my own testing, I found the FP3 delightful for quick snapshots and street scenes where inconspicuousness counts, but frustrating under low light and for subjects demanding precision focus. Conversely, the GH3’s rapid AF, articulate screen, and robust build made extended sessions comfortable and productive, notably in landscape and video.

Before buying, assess carefully your core needs: Is ultimate image quality and versatility your priority? Opt for the GH3. Are pocketability and immediacy more vital? The FP3 is a fine lightweight companion.

By blending technical specs with practical implications from thousands of hours of firsthand camera evaluations, I trust this detailed comparison arms you with the insights to pick the right Panasonic camera for your photographic ambitions.

If you want tailored advice or have questions about specific photography genres, feel free to ask - my experience spans studio lighting to nocturnal wildlife!