Panasonic FS42

Panasonic FS42 is Panasonic's Ultracompact camera originally released on April of 2009. The camera houses a 10MP, CCD 1/2.5" size sensor with a peak resolution of 3648 x 2736.

The FS42 is placed #150 out of 151 in Ultracompact cameras & all round #1262 out of 1465 for cameras in our collection. You can look at our Smart camera filter to get camera rankings based on your custom requirements.

Below is a chart of multiple criteria used in the scoring system.

The Panasonic FS42 has a history of related cameras. Down below, you can see all previous and more recent models as well as main specifications.

You can view the FS42 from different angles in the gallery below.

Here is a selection of good and bad points of the Panasonic FS42 based on features that are oftentimes seen as crucial in a camera.

The measurement of the sensor on the Panasonic FS42 is 5.744mm x 4.308mm (1/2.5"). The 25 mm² sensor has the capability to resolve 3648 x 2736 pixels with aspect ratios of 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9.

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The CCD sensor has 10MP and delivers a native ISO range of 80 to 1000. The ISO can be widened digitally to a maximum of 6400. Unfortunately, RAW files are not saved therefore you have less room to maneuver in post.

The picture below illustrates the FS42's sensor size compared to other common sizes. The FS42 sensor has a crop factor of 6.3 and is highlighted in green.

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To get an understanding of different aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Panasonic FS42 is 0.29 lb (132 grams or 4.66 oz) & the overall size of the camera is 98mm x 55mm x 22mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9"). The weight of general Ultracompact camera is 121 grams and the Panasonic FS42 is very similar when compared to various competitors.

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Below is a visual of the Panasonic FS42 with a softdrink so you're able to get a feel for its size.

The top view below will provide the button layout on the FS42.

The FS42 comes with a built in lens with a focal range of 33-132mm making it a 4.0 x zoom which may not be exceptional nevertheless it can be very helpful in some situations.

At it's widest 33mm, it comes with an aperture of f2.8 making it quite sluggish and not good for low light occasions and you may find it difficult to get a shallow depth of field. You will also have to increase your ISO setting producing noisy files. On the long end, 132mm comes at f5.9 making it very sluggish and you might have to utilize slow shutter speeds.

The FS42 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes

Cameras that have NFC or Bluetooth connectivity are able to be controlled wirelessly by smartphones. You are able to copy pictures and sometimes alter settings without the hassle of connecting physically with the camera.

Many apps also provide a Liveview and press the shutter when you aren't close to the camera. If the camera boasts a HDMI port, it can easily be hooked up to an external screen. A good number of cameras will allow you to charge the battery through the USB socket.

The highest video quality on the Panasonic FS42 is 640 x 480 and you can save in Motion JPEG format. 480p is awful for today's standards. You really should go for at least FUll HD quality for good video. The body doesn't include a microphone or headphone jack which means that you have got zero control over the sound. It is probably best to find an alternative camera should you require decent sound for your video clips.

Panasonic FS42 doesn't have weather proofing so rainy conditions can easily damage the camera.

The Panasonic FS42 is equipped with a 2.5" fixed display screen with a resolution of 230k dots.

Unfortunately the display screen is not a touch screen.

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The ViewFinder specifications for Panasonic FS42 are as follows:

• ViewFinder None

Viewfinders are very handy in bright outdoor conditions which will make the camera display washed out and difficult to see.

Panasonic FS42 continuous shooting speed is 2.0 frames/s. The max shutter speed is 1/2000 sec.

Panasonic FS42 comes with just built in flash lacking external flash ability.

Panasonic FS42 comes with only Contrast Based AF & doesn't have Phase Detect AF. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot more snappier and exact than Contrast Based autofocusing.

Panasonic FS42 has no manual focusing. Manual focusing can be good in low light or you need to have more accurate control on depth of field.

The typical Ultracompact camera battery life is 214. Nikon L32 features the highest (320) battery life in this kind of cameras.

Following is a collection of Ultracompact cameras having the strongest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Nikon L32
FS42 vs L32320 nonono

Olympus TG-870
FS42 vs TG-870300 nonono

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Panasonic FP5
FS42 vs FP5260 nonono

Sony TX20
FS42 vs TX20250 nonono

Sony TX55
FS42 vs TX55250 nonono

The following bar chart indicates a overview of the Panasonic FS42 for specific categories of photography. To see more, have a look at the specific section below.

The Panasonic FS42 receives a points tally of 19 which is bad, meaning that it is just not very good for portrait images. Taking portraits favors heavily to sensor size, RAW support & potential to use off-camera flash.

With a modest points total of 47, the Panasonic FS42 is somewhat suitable for street photography. A decent street photography camera gives a perfect balance of image quality plus portability.

A bad sports photography rating of 16 means the Panasonic FS42 is just not very good for shooting sports. A camera needs to have very good tracking plus shutter speeds for sports photography.

Weight is extremely crucial when selecting a camera for travel. In general, the Panasonic FS42 gets a decent 51 as a travelling camera which is somewhat acceptable to purchase for your travels.

For anybody planning to pick a digital camera for landscape pictures, the most vital factor will no doubt be image quality. The Panasonic FS42 and it's bad score of 22 as a landscape camera is just not very good amongst its rivals.

A camera for vlogging really should have a moving display, microphone port and ideally image stabilization. Considering all the details, the Panasonic FS42 is just not very good as a vlog camera as it receives a bad rating of 22.

If you are shopping for replacements to the FS42, here is a collection of the highest placed cameras that fall into the class of Ultracompact.

The diagram just below offers you a bird's eye view of the FS42 versus it's top ranked competitors suggested earlier.

There are a bunch of cameras you may consider as alternatives. To browse through a detailed comparison, visit the "compare" link.