Panasonic FS42 vs Panasonic S3

Below is a comprehensive review of the Panasonic FS42 and Panasonic S3, former being a Ultracompact while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are created by Panasonic. There exists a considerable gap among the image resolutions of the FS42 (10MP) and S3 (14MP) and the FS42 (1/2.5") and S3 (1/2.3") provide different sensor size.

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The FS42 was announced 20 months before the S3 which makes them a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FS42 being a Ultracompact camera and the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a full comparison, here is a simple summary of how the FS42 grades against the S3 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic FS42 Gallery & Panasonic S3 Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to lug around your camera regularly, you have to think about its weight and size. The Panasonic FS42 has got external measurements of 98mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 132 grams (0.29 lbs) and the Panasonic S3 has specifications of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs).

Check the Panasonic FS42 and Panasonic S3 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the FS42 versus the S3.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FS42 and S3 is 95 and 96 respectively.

More often than not, it's difficult to visualize the difference in sensor measurements just by seeing specs. The visual below may provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the FS42 and S3.

All in all, both of those cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FS42 having a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field tougher and the Panasonic S3 will produce greater detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older FS42 will be behind in sensor tech.