Panasonic FP8 vs Sony HX20V

In this article, we are looking at the Panasonic FP8 versus Sony HX20V, former being a Ultracompact while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Panasonic and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the resolutions of the FP8 (12MP) and HX20V (18MP) but they feature the same exact sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

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The FP8 was brought out 4 years before the HX20V and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic FP8 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a complete comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the FP8 grades versus the HX20V in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic FP8 Gallery & Sony HX20V Gallery.

If you are going to carry your camera, you'll have to consider its weight and proportions. The Panasonic FP8 comes with outside measurements of 96mm x 60mm x 20mm (3.8" x 2.4" x 0.8") with a weight of 151 grams (0.33 lbs) while the Sony HX20V has measurements of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") along with a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Compare the Panasonic FP8 versus Sony HX20V in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are working with at that time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the FP8 against the HX20V.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FP8 and HX20V is 95 and 90 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to picture the gap in sensor sizing purely by going through a spec sheet. The visual here should provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the FP8 and HX20V.

As you can see, both of those cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing but different resolution. You can expect to see the Sony HX20V to show more detail having its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images far more aggressively. The older FP8 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.