Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A580

In this article, we are evaluating the Panasonic FS12 and Sony A580, former is a Ultracompact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Sony. There exists a considerable gap among the image resolutions of the FS12 (12MP) and A580 (16MP) and the FS12 (1/2.3") and A580 (APS-C) enjoy different sensor measurements.

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The FS12 was brought out 3 years earlier than the A580 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic FS12 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving through a detailed comparison, below is a short overview of how the FS12 matches up against the A580 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A580. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic FS12 Gallery & Sony A580 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to travel with your camera regularly, you should take into account its weight and volume. The Panasonic FS12 has outside dimensions of 97mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 129 grams (0.28 lbs) whilst the Sony A580 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic FS12 and Sony A580 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are using during that time. The following is the front view sizing comparison of the FS12 and the A580.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FS12 and A580 is 95 and 64 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to picture the difference in sensor dimensions only by checking out technical specs. The picture below will help provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the FS12 and A580.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The FS12 because of its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF more difficult and the Sony A580 will show extra detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop images far more aggressively. The more aged FS12 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.