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Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500

Portability
95
Imaging
35
Features
14
Overall
26
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12 front
 
Sony Alpha a6500 front
Portability
81
Imaging
67
Features
85
Overall
74

Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 Key Specs

Panasonic FS12
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600 (Boost to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 31-124mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 129g - 97 x 55 x 22mm
  • Introduced April 2009
Sony A6500
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 25600 (Boost to 51200)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 453g - 120 x 67 x 53mm
  • Introduced October 2016
  • Succeeded the Sony A6300
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Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 Overview

Here is a comprehensive review of the Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500, one being a Ultracompact and the other is a Advanced Mirrorless by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the FS12 (12MP) and A6500 (24MP) and the FS12 (1/2.3") and A6500 (APS-C) provide different sensor sizing.

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The FS12 was announced 8 years prior to the A6500 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FS12 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A6500 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a short summary of how the FS12 matches up vs the A6500 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FS12 over the Sony A6500

 FS12 A6500 

Reasons to pick Sony A6500 over the Panasonic FS12

 A6500 FS12 
IntroducedOctober 2016April 2009Fresher by 90 months
Manually focus Dial accurate focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display dimensions3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution922k230kSharper display (+692k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Panasonic FS12 and Sony A6500

 FS12 A6500 
Selfie screen No selfie screen

Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is looking to carry your camera frequently, you will have to take into account its weight and volume. The Panasonic FS12 features physical measurements of 97mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 129 grams (0.28 lbs) and the Sony A6500 has sizing of 120mm x 67mm x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 453 grams (1.00 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you use during that time. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the FS12 and the A6500.

Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the FS12 and A6500 is 95 and 81 respectively.

Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is tough to picture the difference between sensor sizing purely by reading through specs. The graphic below might offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the FS12 and A6500.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The FS12 with its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field harder and the Sony A6500 will resolve more detail with its extra 12MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos more aggressively. The older FS12 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 sensor size comparison

Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FS12 Portrait photography advice
Sony A6500 Portrait photography advice
21
no manual focus
manual mode not possible
no external flash support
megapixel count low (12MP)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
80
manual focus
decent sensor resolution (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
provides face detection focus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Panasonic FS12 Street photography information
Sony A6500 Street photography information
57
image stabilization (Optical)
no moving screen
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
85
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
comes with focus by touch
weather sealing
above average ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic FS12 Sports photography info
Sony A6500 Sports photography info
25
image stabilization (Optical)
max frames per second very slow (2.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no phase detect autofocus
77
silent shooting (1/32,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
provides tracking autofocus
weather sealing
comes with phase detect auto focus
terrible battery pack (350 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic FS12 Travel photography info
Sony A6500 Travel photography info
51
built-in flash
no Time Lapse mode
megapixel count low (12MP)
display is not selfie friendly
wide angle not the best (31mm)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
74
weather sealing
connects via bluetooth
comes with focus by touch
decent sensor resolution (24MP)
has built in flash
terrible battery pack (350 per charge)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic FS12 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony A6500 as a Landscape photography camera
28
image stabilization (Optical)
no manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not the best (31mm)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
tiny screen (2.7 inches)
manual mode not possible
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
no Time Lapse mode
79
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor resolution (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
above average ISO range (25,600)
supports RAW formats
weather sealing
terrible battery pack (350 per charge)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic FS12
Vlogging with Sony A6500
25
image stabilization (Optical)
wide angle not the best (31mm)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
display is not selfie friendly
low quality video (640 x 480 pxls)
no mic port
39
touchscreen functionality
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detection focus
video res high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
does have external mic socket
does not have a selfie friendly screen
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Panasonic FS12 vs Sony A6500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FS12 and Sony A6500
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12Sony Alpha a6500
General Information
Brand Panasonic Sony
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12 Sony Alpha a6500
Type Ultracompact Advanced Mirrorless
Introduced 2009-04-17 2016-10-06
Physical type Ultracompact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 24 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4000 x 3000 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 1600 25600
Max enhanced ISO 6400 51200
Min native ISO 80 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points - 425
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Sony E
Lens zoom range 31-124mm (4.0x) -
Highest aperture f/2.8-5.9 -
Macro focusing distance 5cm -
Amount of lenses - 121
Crop factor 5.9 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen diagonal 2.7 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 230 thousand dots 922 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Max silent shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 2.0 frames/s 11.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 6.30 m 6.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear Sync., Slow Sync., Red-eye reduction (On/Off selectable), Hi-speed sync, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution 640x480 3840x2160
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic port
Headphone port
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
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 129g (0.28 lb) 453g (1.00 lb)
Physical dimensions 97 x 55 x 22mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.9") 120 x 67 x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 85
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 24.5
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.7
DXO Low light rating not tested 1405
Other
Battery life - 350 images
Type of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes
Time lapse shooting With downloadable app
Type of storage SD/SDHC card, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC + Memory Stick Pro Duo
Card slots 1 1
Cost at release $228 $1,298