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Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III

Portability
95
Imaging
37
Features
33
Overall
35
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III front
Portability
89
Imaging
52
Features
77
Overall
62

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III Key Specs

Panasonic FP5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 35-140mm (F3.5-5.9) lens
  • 141g - 101 x 59 x 18mm
  • Announced January 2011
Sony RX100 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 290g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Released May 2014
  • Succeeded the Sony RX100 II
  • Newer Model is Sony RX100 IV
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Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III Overview

Let's look much closer at the Panasonic FP5 and Sony RX100 III, one being a Ultracompact and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There is a sizeable difference among the image resolutions of the FP5 (14MP) and RX100 III (20MP) and the FP5 (1/2.3") and RX100 III (1") boast totally different sensor measurements.

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The FP5 was unveiled 4 years earlier than the RX100 III and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FP5 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go into a in depth comparison, here is a quick view of how the FP5 scores against the RX100 III in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FP5 over the Sony RX100 III

 FP5 RX100 III 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 III over the Panasonic FP5

 RX100 III FP5 
ReleasedMay 2014January 2011Fresher by 40 months
Manual focus Very accurate focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1229k230kCrisper screen (+999k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Panasonic FP5 and Sony RX100 III

 FP5 RX100 III 
Screen size3"3"Same screen measurements

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III Physical Comparison

If you are intending to carry your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and measurements. The Panasonic FP5 has physical dimensions of 101mm x 59mm x 18mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 0.7") accompanied by a weight of 141 grams (0.31 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 III has proportions of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") along with a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

See the Panasonic FP5 and Sony RX100 III in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have attached during that time. Below is a front view proportions comparison of the FP5 vs the RX100 III.

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the FP5 and RX100 III is 95 and 89 respectively.

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it is tough to see the contrast in sensor sizing simply by looking through specs. The visual below will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the FP5 and RX100 III.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The FP5 with its smaller sensor will make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Sony RX100 III will result in more detail having an extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The older FP5 will be behind in sensor technology.

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III sensor size comparison

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FP5 Portrait photography info
Sony RX100 III Portrait photography info
33
MP count decent (14MP)
supports face detect focusing
lack of manual focus
no manual exposure
no external flash support
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
65
focusing manually
high flash sync (1/2,000 seconds)
MP count good (20MP)
good sensor size (1")
provides face detection focus
exports RAW files
external flash not possible
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Street Comparison

Panasonic FP5 Street photography info
Sony RX100 III Street photography info
63
built in image stabilization (Optical)
boasts touch to focus
fixed screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
85
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
good sensor size (1")
exports RAW files
lighter than competition in class (290 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Panasonic FP5
Sports photography with Sony RX100 III
43
built in image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (14MP)
supports tracking focus
great battery power (260 per charge)
painfully slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no phase detect AF
66
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (20MP)
good sensor size (1")
provides tracking autofocus
lacks phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic FP5 Travel photography details
Sony RX100 III Travel photography details
65
great battery power (260 per charge)
boasts touch to focus
MP count decent (14MP)
built-in flash
does not have Time Lapse mode
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
wide angle not fantastic (35mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
86
lighter than competition in class (290 grams)
MP count good (20 megapixels)
built-in flash
selfie friendly screen
decently wide (24mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Panasonic FP5
Landscape photography with Sony RX100 III
40
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
great battery power (260 per charge)
lack of manual focus
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not fantastic (35mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
no manual exposure
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
does not have Time Lapse mode
74
focusing manually
decently wide (24mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
exports RAW files
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic FP5 Vlogging information
Sony RX100 III Vlogging information
30
touchscreen functionality
built in image stabilization (Optical)
supports face detect focusing
wide angle not fantastic (35mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have mic support
81
decently wide (24mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
selfie friendly screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detection focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition in class (290 grams)
no external microphone port
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Panasonic FP5 vs Sony RX100 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FP5 and Sony RX100 III
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
General Information
Company Panasonic Sony
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
Class Ultracompact Large Sensor Compact
Announced 2011-01-05 2014-05-15
Body design Ultracompact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine IV Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor measurements 6.08 x 4.56mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4320 x 3240 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 6400 12800
Min native ISO 100 125
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 11 25
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 35-140mm (4.0x) 24-70mm (2.9x)
Highest aperture f/3.5-5.9 f/1.8-2.8
Macro focus range 10cm 5cm
Focal length multiplier 5.9 2.7
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 3" 3"
Display resolution 230k dot 1,229k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech TFT Touch Screen LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440k dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/1600s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting speed 6.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.90 m -
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction -
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/2000s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p/120p), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 141 grams (0.31 lb) 290 grams (0.64 lb)
Physical dimensions 101 x 59 x 18mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 0.7") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 67
DXO Color Depth score not tested 22.4
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.3
DXO Low light score not tested 495
Other
Battery life 260 photographs 320 photographs
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, self-portrait, continuous)
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Retail cost $199 $748