Panasonic FS15

Panasonic FS15 is Panasonic's Ultracompact camera first revealed on January of 2009. It has a 12 MegaPixel, CCD 1/2.3" sized sensor and has a maximum resolution of 4000 x 3000.

The FS15 is positioned #126 out of 151 in Ultracompact cameras and all-around #1205 out of 1465 for cameras in our database. Remember to look at our Advanced camera search to see camera ratings based on your personal factors.

The following is a diagram of various criteria used in the scoring system.

The Panasonic FS15 comes with a history of related cameras. Here, you can view all earlier and most recent models as well as important specs.

You can check the FS15 from different angles in the gallery below.

Below is a selection of pluses and minuses of the Panasonic FS15 based on features which are usually viewed as important in a camera.

The dimension of the sensor in the Panasonic FS15 is 6.08mm x 4.56mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor has the ability to resolve 4000 x 3000 pixels and aspect ratios of 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2. The camera has got Image Stabilization (Optical). In body stabilization is more desirable than digital stabilization as the latter can easily cause cropping.

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The CCD sensor boasts 12MP and has a native ISO range of 80 - 1600. This ISO can also be increased digitally to a high of 6400. Sadly, RAW format is not supported therefore the user has less margin for error.

The graphic underneath shows the FS15's sensor dimensions when compared to other common sizes. The FS15 sensor comes with a crop factor of 5.9 and is pointed out in green.

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To get an idea of different aspect ratios, you should refer to the visual below.

Panasonic FS15 weighs about 0.30 pounds (136g or 4.80 oz) and features outer size of 97mm x 54mm x 22mm (3.8" x 2.1" x 0.9"). The weight of normal Ultracompact camera is 121g so the Panasonic FS15 is weightier when compared to its competitors.

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Down below is a picture of the Panasonic FS15 next to a soft drink to help you have a sense of its scale.

The top view underneath will provide the button design on the FS15.

The FS15 includes a fixed lens featuring a focal range of 29-145mm making it a 5.0 x zoom which won't be outstanding but it will probably be useful in some cases.

At the widest 29mm, the lens provides an aperture of f3.3 making it somewhat slow and not great in low light conditions and you may find it hard to capture good bokeh. You might also have to raise the ISO setting causing noisy photographs. Towards the tele end, 145mm comes with f5.9 which is quite slow and you may need to go with slow shutter speeds.

The FS15 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Cameras that come with NFC and Bluetooth compatibility are able to be used wirelessly through smartphones. You are able to transfer photos and oftentimes change settings with no need to connect physically to the camera.

Some applications even give a Liveview and click the shutter whenever you aren't near the camera. If the camera includes a HDMI out, it can easily be connected to an external monitor. The majority of cameras enable you to recharge the battery with the USB socket.

The maximum video resolution in the Panasonic FS15 is 640 x 480 and it can shoot in Motion JPEG format. 480p is low by today's requirements. You really should go for a minimum 1080p resolution for video recording. The camera doesn't feature a mic and headphone port which means that you have got little control over your audio. It is perhaps a better idea to consider a different model should you want good audio in your video clips.

There is no weather sealing for the Panasonic FS15 so you need to be cautious in wet or dusty situations.

The Panasonic FS15 has a 2.7" fixed screen supporting a resolution of 230k dots.

Sadly the screen is not a touch screen.

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The View Finder specs regarding Panasonic FS15 are below:

• ViewFinder None

In those sunny outdoor situations which make the camera screens washed out and tough to view, viewfinders are rather helpful.

Panasonic FS15 has the ability to shoot continuously at 2.0 frames per second. The maximum shutter speed is 1/2000s.

Panasonic FS15 has got only in-built flash without external flash ability.

Panasonic FS15 has got just Contrast Detect Auto Focus and is missing Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot quicker and precise when compared to Contrast Detect focusing.

The Sensor has 11 focus points to select from. Panasonic FS15 has no manual focus. Manual focus ability is useful in low light scenarios or you want more precise control on focus.

The general Ultracompact camera battery life is 214. Nikon L32 has the highest possible (320) battery life in this type of cameras.

Underneath is a listing of Ultracompact cameras that have the highest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Nikon L32
FS15 vs L32320 nonono

Olympus TG-870
FS15 vs TG-870300 nonono

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Panasonic FP5
FS15 vs FP5260 nonono

Sony TX20
FS15 vs TX20250 nonono

Sony TX55
FS15 vs TX55250 nonono

The following bar chart presents a analysis of the Panasonic FS15 for various kinds of photography. To learn more, go to the specific paragraph underneath.

The Panasonic FS15 has a points total of 20 which is lousy, meaning that it is not really very good to use for portrait photography. Photographing portraits leans heavily to sensor size, RAW support plus the ability to use off-camera lighting.

With a decent score of 56, the Panasonic FS15 is relatively acceptable to buy for street photography. A decent street photography camera has a perfect balance of image quality plus portability.

A lousy sports photography points total of 25 suggests the Panasonic FS15 is not really very good for taking pictures of sports. A camera should have excellent focusing and fast continuous shooting for sports photography.

Portability is super crucial in getting a camera for travel. Over-all, the Panasonic FS15 gets a decent 51 for a travelling camera which makes it relatively adequate to take on your trips.

If you find yourself planning to buy a digital camera for landscape photographs, the most critical factor is going to be image quality. The Panasonic FS15 and it's lousy rating of 27 as a landscape camera is not really very good in the current marketplace.

A camera for vlogging should really come with a articulating display, microphone port and ideally IBIS. Considering all the details, the Panasonic FS15 is not really very good for vlogging as it comes to a lousy score of 25.

If you are interested in alternatives to the FS15, here is a list of the highest placed cameras that fall under the family of Ultracompact.

The graph listed below will give you a bird's eye view of the FS15 versus it's top rated competitors shown earlier.

Here are a few more cameras you may look into as alternate options. To see a full comparison, click the "compare" link.