Panasonic FS15 vs Ricoh GR Digital IV

Lets look more closely at the Panasonic FS15 vs Ricoh GR Digital IV, former being a Ultracompact while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Panasonic and Ricoh. The resolution of the FS15 (12MP) and the GR Digital IV (10MP) is pretty well matched but the FS15 (1/2.3") and GR Digital IV (1/1.7") have totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The FS15 was manufactured 3 years before the GR Digital IV and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FS15 being a Ultracompact camera and the Ricoh GR Digital IV being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a step-by-step comparison, here is a short summary of how the FS15 matches up versus the GR Digital IV with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 & Ricoh GR Digital IV. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic FS15 Gallery & Ricoh GR Digital IV Gallery.

If you're planning to carry your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and volume. The Panasonic FS15 offers exterior measurements of 97mm x 54mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.1" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs) and the Ricoh GR Digital IV has sizing of 109mm x 59mm x 33mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.3") having a weight of 190 grams (0.42 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic FS15 vs Ricoh GR Digital IV in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Here is a front view physical size comparison of the FS15 and the GR Digital IV.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the FS15 and GR Digital IV is 95 and 92 respectively.

Usually, its difficult to envision the difference between sensor sizing merely by reading through specs. The visual underneath will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the FS15 and GR Digital IV.

All in all, each of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The FS15 due to its tinier sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field harder and the Panasonic FS15 will give you extra detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs way more aggressively. The older FS15 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.