Panasonic FZ200 vs Sony A290

Below is a extensive review of the Panasonic FZ200 and Sony A290, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Sony. The image resolution of the FZ200 (12MP) and the A290 (14MP) is pretty comparable but the FZ200 (1/2.3") and A290 (APS-C) posses different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The FZ200 was launched 2 years later than the A290 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FZ200 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go into a detailed comparison, here is a concise summation of how the FZ200 matches up against the A290 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic FZ200 Gallery & Sony A290 Gallery.

When you are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FZ200 offers exterior dimensions of 125mm x 87mm x 110mm (4.9" x 3.4" x 4.3") accompanied by a weight of 588 grams (1.30 lbs) and the Sony A290 has dimensions of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") and a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic FZ200 and Sony A290 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you choose during that time. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the FZ200 and the A290.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FZ200 and A290 is 65 and 66 respectively.

More often than not, its hard to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements only by checking out a spec sheet. The visual below will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the FZ200 and A290.

As you can see, the two cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FZ200 due to its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony A290 will provide greater detail utilizing its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The fresher FZ200 should have an edge in sensor technology.