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Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57

Portability
95
Imaging
34
Features
17
Overall
27
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 front
 
Sony SLT-A57 front
Portability
64
Imaging
57
Features
85
Overall
68

Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 Key Specs

Panasonic FS15
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600 (Expand to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 29-145mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 136g - 97 x 54 x 22mm
  • Announced January 2009
Sony A57
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 16000 (Expand to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 618g - 132 x 98 x 81mm
  • Introduced September 2012
  • Superseded the Sony A55
  • New Model is Sony A58
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Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 Overview

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Panasonic FS15 and Sony A57, one being a Ultracompact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Sony. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the FS15 (12MP) and A57 (16MP) and the FS15 (1/2.3") and A57 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The FS15 was unveiled 4 years before the A57 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic FS15 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony A57 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a simple overview of how the FS15 matches up against the A57 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FS15 over the Sony A57

 FS15 A57 

Reasons to pick Sony A57 over the Panasonic FS15

 A57 FS15 
IntroducedSeptember 2012January 2009Fresher by 44 months
Focus manually Very exact focus
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution921k230kClearer screen (+691k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Panasonic FS15 and Sony A57

 FS15 A57 
Touch friendly screen Neither provides Touch friendly screen

Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is intending to carry your camera often, you'll need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FS15 provides outside measurements of 97mm x 54mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.1" x 0.9") and a weight of 136 grams (0.30 lbs) while the Sony A57 has dimensions of 132mm x 98mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 618 grams (1.36 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic FS15 and Sony A57 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you use at that moment. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the FS15 versus the A57.

Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FS15 and A57 is 95 and 64 respectively.

Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it can be tough to envision the contrast in sensor sizing merely by researching specs. The photograph underneath will offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the FS15 and A57.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The FS15 having a smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Sony A57 will result in extra detail having an extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures much more aggressively. The older FS15 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.

Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 sensor size comparison

Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FS15 Portrait photography features
Sony A57 Portrait photography features
20
focusing manually not possible
manual exposure not available
no external flash support
low resolution (12MP)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
74
has manual focus
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detection focusing
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Panasonic FS15 Street photography factors
Sony A57 Street photography factors
56
built in image stabilization (Optical)
screen is fixed
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
75
screen articulates fully
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic FS15 as a Sports photography camera
Sony A57 as a Sports photography camera
25
built in image stabilization (Optical)
slow frames per second (2.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
low resolution (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
78
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
comes with tracking autofocus
comes with phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic FS15 Travel photography advice
Sony A57 Travel photography advice
51
has built in flash
missing Time Lapse recording
low resolution (12 megapixels)
display isn't selfie friendly
wide angle not great (29mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
67
megapixel count good (16MP)
has built in flash
selfie friendly screen
missing Time Lapse function
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic FS15 Landscape photography information
Sony A57 Landscape photography information
27
built in image stabilization (Optical)
focusing manually not possible
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not great (29mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
tiny screen (2.7 inch)
manual exposure not available
low resolution (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
missing Time Lapse recording
72
has manual focus
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
missing Time Lapse function
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic FS15 Vlogging features
Sony A57 Vlogging features
25
built in image stabilization (Optical)
wide angle not great (29mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
display isn't selfie friendly
video res low (640 x 480 pixels)
missing external mic jack
77
selfie friendly screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does have external mic socket
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Panasonic FS15 vs Sony A57 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FS15 and Sony A57
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15Sony SLT-A57
General Information
Brand Panasonic Sony
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 Sony SLT-A57
Type Ultracompact Entry-Level DSLR
Announced 2009-01-16 2012-09-13
Physical type Ultracompact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 27.7mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4000 x 3000 4912 x 3264
Highest native ISO 1600 16000
Highest enhanced ISO 6400 25600
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 11 15
Cross type focus points - 3
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens zoom range 29-145mm (5.0x) -
Largest aperture f/3.3-5.9 -
Macro focusing range 5cm -
Amount of lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.9 1.5
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Display sizing 2.7 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 230k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display technology - Xtra Fine TFT drive with TruBlack technology
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440k dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 30s
Max shutter speed 1/2000s 1/4000s
Continuous shutter rate 2.0 frames/s 12.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance - 10.00 m (@ ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, Auto Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 640x480 1920x1080
Video data format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 136g (0.30 lbs) 618g (1.36 lbs)
Dimensions 97 x 54 x 22mm (3.8" x 2.1" x 0.9") 132 x 98 x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 75
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.0
DXO Low light rating not tested 785
Other
Battery life - 550 photographs
Battery type - Battery Pack
Battery ID - NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/MMC/SDHC card, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 1 1
Retail cost $180 $1,000