Updated (January, 2011): Compare the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH25

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20

51

Reasons to buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20

Wide angle
Wide angle lens
28 mm
True resolution
High true resolution
9.8 MP
Shutter lag
Barely any delay taking photos
290 ms shutter lag
Light sensitivity (boost)
High ISO (boost)
6,400 ISO
Longest exposure
Long exposures
60 seconds
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS

51

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS

True resolution
High true resolution
9.8 MP
Weight
Light-weight
120 g
Viewfinder
Great viewfinder
Tunnel

differences

Advantages of the Canon SD1200 IS

Aperture Wider aperture f/2.8 vs f/3.3
Help
At its widest zoom, the SD1200 IS's lens captures marginally more light (0.5 f-stops)
Size Significantly smaller 86x55x22 mm vs 100x56x28 mm
Help
More than 30% smaller
Viewfinder Has a viewfinder Tunnel vs None
Help
A viewfinder can help save battery life by keeping the screen turned off
Weight Significantly lighter 120 g vs 178 g
Help
More than 30% lighter
Macro focus Better macro capability 3 cm vs 5 cm
Help
Focus on subjects 40% closer to the lens
Thickness Thinner 0.9" vs 1.1"
Help
More than 20% thinner
True resolution Slightly higher true resolution 9.8 MP vs 9.8 MP
Help
Almost the same
Sensor size Slightly larger sensor 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm vs 1/2.3" 6.1x4.6mm
Help
Almost the same
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Learn more about
the Canon SD1200 IS

Advantages of the Panasonic DMC-FH20

Wide angle Much better wide angle 28 mm vs 35 mm
Help
20% better wide angle
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 30fps vs 480p @ 30fps
Help
Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video
Screen size Larger screen 2.7" vs 2.5"
Help
Around 10% larger screen
Zoom More zoom 8x vs 3x
Help
More than 7x more zoom
Light sensitivity (boost) Has boost ISO 6,400 ISO vs None
Help
Allows taking photos in darker situations, often at the cost of additional noise in the image
Longest exposure Much longer exposures 60s vs 15s
Help
4x longer exposures
Fastest shutter speed Faster max shutter speed 1/1600s vs 1/1500s
Help
Around 10% faster max shutter speed
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 Learn more about
the Panasonic DMC-FH20
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent compacts, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS
51 vs 51
Explain scores
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20
Green arrow Too close to call! Snapsort considers these cameras too competitive to make a clear recommendation. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a compact with a travel zoom.

advice

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similarities

Compared to recent compacts

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
Fastest shutter speed Slow max shutter speed Help
SD1200 IS:1/1500s
DMC-FH20:1/1600s
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
1,600 ISO
Screen size Very small screens Help
SD1200 IS:2.5"
DMC-FH20:2.7"
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
230k dots
Movie format Poor movies Help
SD1200 IS:480p @ 30fps
DMC-FH20:720p @ 30fps
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
SD1200 IS:35 mm
DMC-FH20:28 mm

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon ELPH 300 HS

Canon ELPH 300 HS

Compact

$148 - $179

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Weight Is slightly heavier
Canon ELPH 100 HS

Canon ELPH 100 HS

Compact

$103 - $189

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Weight Is slightly heavier

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS

Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS

Compact

$178

Wide angle Much better wide angle
Screen size Larger screen
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Size Slightly larger
Canon PowerShot A3300 IS

Canon PowerShot A3300 IS

Compact

$129

Wide angle Much better wide angle
Screen size Much larger screen
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Size Larger
Canon ELPH 310 HS

Canon ELPH 310 HS

Travel zoom

$195 - $196

Wide angle Much better wide angle
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Aperture Narrower aperture
Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

Ultra compact

Movie format Higher resolution movies
Wide angle Better wide angle
Aperture Narrower aperture
Weight Heavier
Canon PowerShot SD790 IS

Canon PowerShot SD790 IS

Compact

Screen size Much larger screen
Thickness Slightly thinner
Viewfinder No viewfinder
Weight Much heavier

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH25

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH25

Travel zoom

$149 - $200

Weight Lighter
Lowest price Slightly cheaper
Continuous shooting Shoots slower
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH22

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH22

Travel zoom

$129

Screen size Significantly larger screen
Touch screen Has a touch screen
Canon PowerShot A2200

Canon PowerShot A2200

Compact

$147

Aperture Wider aperture
Size Smaller
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Zoom Less zoom
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH3

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH3

Compact

$147

Aperture Wider aperture
Size Smaller
Zoom Less zoom
Nikon Coolpix S6200

Nikon Coolpix S6200

Travel zoom

$177 - $223

Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Zoom More zoom
Macro focus Significantly worse macro capability
Continuous shooting Shoots slower

appearance

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20
Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20

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