Panasonic FS42 vs Sony WX300

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Panasonic FS42 versus Sony WX300, one being a Ultracompact and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Panasonic and Sony. There exists a crucial gap between the sensor resolutions of the FS42 (10MP) and WX300 (18MP) and the FS42 (1/2.5") and WX300 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor sizing.

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The FS42 was revealed 4 years earlier than the WX300 and that is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FS42 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony WX300 being a Compact camera.

Before we go into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the FS42 grades versus the WX300 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS42 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX300. The full galleries are provided at Panasonic FS42 Gallery and Sony WX300 Gallery.

If you are aiming to lug around your camera, you will want to factor in its weight and measurements. The Panasonic FS42 comes with outside dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 132 grams (0.29 lbs) while the Sony WX300 has proportions of 96mm x 55mm x 25mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 1.0") and a weight of 166 grams (0.37 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic FS42 versus Sony WX300 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are employing at that moment. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the FS42 and the WX300.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FS42 and WX300 is 95 and 94 respectively.

Quite often, it can be difficult to envision the contrast between sensor measurements simply by reading a spec sheet. The visual below will help give you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the FS42 and WX300.

As you can see, both of those cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The FS42 having a tinier sensor will make achieving bokeh harder and the Sony WX300 will offer more detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs more aggressively. The older FS42 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.