Panasonic FP8 vs Sony A350

Following is a complete overview of the Panasonic FP8 and Sony A350, former is a Ultracompact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Sony. The resolution of the FP8 (12MP) and the A350 (14MP) is fairly well matched but the FP8 (1/2.3") and A350 (APS-C) have different sensor sizing.

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing

The FP8 was revealed 14 months after the A350 making them a generation away from one another. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FP8 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A350 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go straight to a detailed comparison, here is a short view of how the FP8 matches up vs the A350 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A350. The full galleries are viewable at Panasonic FP8 Gallery & Sony A350 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FP8 offers external measurements of 96mm x 60mm x 20mm (3.8" x 2.4" x 0.8") along with a weight of 151 grams (0.33 lbs) and the Sony A350 has dimensions of 131mm x 99mm x 75mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") having a weight of 674 grams (1.49 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic FP8 and Sony A350 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the FP8 vs the A350.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FP8 and A350 is 95 and 62 respectively.

Quite often, it is tough to picture the difference between sensor sizes merely by reading through technical specs. The image below should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the FP8 and A350.

As you can tell, both the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The FP8 using its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A350 will give you greater detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop photos way more aggressively. The more recent FP8 should have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.