Panasonic FS42 vs Sony W830

Below is a detailed assessment of the Panasonic FS42 and Sony W830, both Ultracompact digital cameras by brands Panasonic and Sony. There exists a large gap between the sensor resolutions of the FS42 (10MP) and W830 (20MP) and the FS42 (1/2.5") and W830 (1/2.3") offer different sensor measurements.

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The FS42 was manufactured 5 years earlier than the W830 and that is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have the same body design (Ultracompact).

Before diving straight to a in depth comparison, here is a concise view of how the FS42 scores vs the W830 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic FS42 Gallery & Sony W830 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FS42 provides outside dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 132 grams (0.29 lbs) whilst the Sony W830 has dimensions of 93mm x 52mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") along with a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

See the Panasonic FS42 and Sony W830 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is a front view physical size comparison of the FS42 versus the W830.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FS42 and W830 is 95 and 96 respectively.

Typically, its tough to visualize the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading through specifications. The graphic below may give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the FS42 and W830.

Plainly, both of those cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FS42 because of its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony W830 will give you greater detail due to its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older FS42 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.