Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A500

Let's look much closer at the Panasonic FS15 versus Sony A500, one is a Ultracompact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Sony. The sensor resolution of the FS15 (12MP) and the A500 (12MP) is relatively close but the FS15 (1/2.3") and A500 (APS-C) come with different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The FS15 was manufactured 7 months prior to the A500 so they are of a similar generation. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic FS15 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting through a more detailed comparison, below is a short summation of how the FS15 grades versus the A500 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic FS15 Gallery and Sony A500 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to travel with your camera regularly, you have to take into account its weight and proportions. The Panasonic FS15 offers outside dimensions of 97mm x 54mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.1" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs) whilst the Sony A500 has measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

See the Panasonic FS15 versus Sony A500 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are utilizing at that moment. The following is the front view dimensions comparison of the FS15 and the A500.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the FS15 and A500 is 95 and 63 respectively.

Often, it is very tough to picture the gap in sensor dimensions only by looking through specifications. The picture below will provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the FS15 and A500.

To sum up, both of these cameras posses the exact same MP albeit different sensor dimensions. The FS15 includes the smaller sensor which is going to make getting shallower depth of field more challenging. The more aged FS15 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.