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Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80

Portability
95
Imaging
33
Features
10
Overall
23
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42 front
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80 front
Portability
63
Imaging
44
Features
62
Overall
51

Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 Key Specs

Panasonic FS42
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.5" Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1000 (Push to 6400)
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 33-132mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 132g - 98 x 55 x 22mm
  • Introduced April 2009
Panasonic FZ80
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200 (Raise to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 20-1200mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 616g - 130 x 94 x 119mm
  • Launched January 2017
  • Alternate Name is Lumix DMC-FZ82
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Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 Overview

The following is a detailed review of the Panasonic FS42 and Panasonic FZ80, one is a Ultracompact and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are produced by Panasonic. There exists a big gap among the image resolutions of the FS42 (10MP) and FZ80 (18MP) and the FS42 (1/2.5") and FZ80 (1/2.3") boast different sensor sizing.

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The FS42 was unveiled 8 years before the FZ80 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FS42 being a Ultracompact camera and the Panasonic FZ80 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a concise summation of how the FS42 matches up versus the FZ80 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FS42 over the Panasonic FZ80

 FS42 FZ80 

Reasons to pick Panasonic FZ80 over the Panasonic FS42

 FZ80 FS42 
LaunchedJanuary 2017April 2009Newer by 93 months
Manually focus Very exact focus
Screen size3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution1040k230kSharper screen (+810k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Panasonic FS42 and Panasonic FZ80

 FS42 FZ80 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither contains selfie screen

Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is going to travel with your camera regularly, you have to think about its weight and size. The Panasonic FS42 has got physical measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 132 grams (0.29 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ80 has specifications of 130mm x 94mm x 119mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.7") with a weight of 616 grams (1.36 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic FS42 and Panasonic FZ80 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are using at the time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the FS42 versus the FZ80.

Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the FS42 and FZ80 is 95 and 63 respectively.

Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its tough to visualize the gap in sensor dimensions purely by viewing a spec sheet. The pic here may give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the FS42 and FZ80.

Clearly, both of these cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The FS42 using its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Panasonic FZ80 will provide you with more detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The more aged FS42 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 sensor size comparison

Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FS42 Portrait photography information
Panasonic FZ80 Portrait photography information
19
lack of manual focus
no manual control
no external flash support
MP count low (10 megapixels)
very small sensor size (1/2.5")
lack of RAW files
58
you can focus manually
good megapixels (18MP)
supports face detect autofocus
saves RAW files
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic FS42
Street photography with Panasonic FZ80
47
screen is fixed
lack of image stabilization
very small sensor size (1/2.5")
lack of RAW files
low max ISO (1,000)
54
image stabilization (Optical)
saves RAW files
comes with focus by touch
fixed screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
heavier than competition in class (616 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic FS42 as a Sports photography camera
Panasonic FZ80 as a Sports photography camera
16
slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
MP count low (10MP)
very small sensor size (1/2.5")
lack of phase detect autofocus
57
excellent zoom range (20-1200mm 60.0 x zoom)
quiet shutter (1/16,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (18 megapixels)
supports tracking focus
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Panasonic FS42
Travel photography with Panasonic FZ80
51
flash built-in
lack of Time Lapse function
MP count low (10 megapixels)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
wide angle not the best (33mm)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
59
comes with focus by touch
good megapixels (18 megapixels)
flash built-in
quite wide (20mm)
great zoom (1200mm)
heavier than competition in class (616 grams)
display isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Panasonic FS42
Landscape photography with Panasonic FZ80
22
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not the best (33mm)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
screen is somewhat small (2.5")
no manual control
lack of image stabilization
MP count low (10MP)
very small sensor size (1/2.5")
low max ISO (1,000)
lack of RAW files
lack of Time Lapse function
57
you can focus manually
quite wide (20mm)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (18 megapixels)
saves RAW files
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic FS42
Vlogging with Panasonic FZ80
22
wide angle not the best (33mm)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
video res low (640 x 480 pxls)
lack of mic jack
28
quite wide (20mm)
touchscreen capability
image stabilization (Optical)
supports face detect autofocus
high quality video (3840 x 2160 resolution)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
display isn't selfie friendly
lack of mic socket
heavier than competition in class (616g)
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Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic FZ80 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FS42 and Panasonic FZ80
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80
General Information
Make Panasonic Panasonic
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80
Also called - Lumix DMC-FZ82
Type Ultracompact Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2009-04-17 2017-01-04
Physical type Ultracompact SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor Chip - Venus Engine
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.5" 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 5.744 x 4.308mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 24.7mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 18MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3
Highest resolution 3648 x 2736 4896 x 3672
Highest native ISO 1000 3200
Highest boosted ISO 6400 6400
Minimum native ISO 80 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points - 49
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 33-132mm (4.0x) 20-1200mm (60.0x)
Largest aperture f/2.8-5.9 f/2.8-5.9
Macro focus range 5cm 1cm
Focal length multiplier 6.3 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 2.5 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 230k dots 1,040k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,166k dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.46x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/2000 secs
Maximum quiet shutter speed - 1/16000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 2.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 6.30 m 14.10 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync, Slow Sync/Red-eye Reduction, 1st Curtain Sync, 2nd Curtain Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
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, MP4, H.264, AAC1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 28 Mbps, MP4, H.264, AAC
Highest video resolution 640x480 3840x2160
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
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
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 132 gr (0.29 lb) 616 gr (1.36 lb)
Physical dimensions 98 x 55 x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") 130 x 94 x 119mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 330 images
Battery type - Battery Pack
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 secs, 3 images x 10 secs)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC card, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC card
Card slots Single Single
Retail pricing $580 $399