Panasonic FP8 vs Sony A6500

Following is a in-depth assessment of the Panasonic FP8 and Sony A6500, one is a Ultracompact and the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by competitors Panasonic and Sony. There is a crucial difference between the sensor resolutions of the FP8 (12MP) and A6500 (24MP) and the FP8 (1/2.3") and A6500 (APS-C) have totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The FP8 was brought out 8 years before the A6500 which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FP8 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A6500 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving into a full comparison, here is a simple summary of how the FP8 matches up against the A6500 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8 and Sony Alpha a6500. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic FP8 Gallery and Sony A6500 Gallery.

If you are looking to carry around your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FP8 has outer dimensions of 96mm x 60mm x 20mm (3.8" x 2.4" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 151 grams (0.33 lbs) whilst the Sony A6500 has dimensions of 120mm x 67mm x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1") with a weight of 453 grams (1.00 lbs).

Examine the Panasonic FP8 and Sony A6500 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you use at that moment. Following is a front view size comparison of the FP8 against the A6500.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the FP8 and A6500 is 95 and 81 respectively.

Oftentimes, it's difficult to see the gap between sensor sizes just by going over a spec sheet. The image below should offer you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the FP8 and A6500.

Clearly, both of these cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The FP8 due to its tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A6500 will offer you more detail having its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics way more aggressively. The more aged FP8 is going to be behind in sensor innovation.