Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic FS12 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon 1 J4 has external dimensions of 100 x 60 x 29 mm (3.92 x 2.36 x 1.12″) and weighs 232 g (0.51 lb / 8.18 oz) (including batteries). Panasonic FS12 has external dimensions of 97 x 55 x 22 mm (3.82 x 2.17 x 0.87″) and weighs 129 g (0.28 lb / 4.55 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic FS12. Panasonic FS12 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 3mm narrower, 5mm shorter and 7mm thinner than Nikon 1 J4. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Panasonic FS12 has a built-in lens but Nikon 1 J4 doesn't. Once you put a lens on 1 J4, its thickness will increase significantly.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Panasonic FS12 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic FS12 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Panasonic FS12 is significantly lighter (103g ) than the Nikon 1 J4 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on 1 J4, the total kit will weigh much higher.
Weather Sealing
Unfortunately neither Nikon 1 J4 nor Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections: Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing Top Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing
LCD Screen Size and Features
Nikon 1 J4's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Panasonic FS12's 2.7" screen.
Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.
Nikon 1 J4 has a 18.0MP 1" (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 4 processor. On the other hand, Panasonic FS12 has a 12.0MP 1/2.3" (6.08 x 4.56 mm ) sized CCD sensor .
Nikon 1 J4's sensor provides 6MP more than Panasonic FS12's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the 1 J4 and FS12 sensor size comparison.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Panasonic FS12 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic FS12 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon 1 J4 has a 4.2x Larger sensor area than Panasonic FS12. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic FS12 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.
Nikon 1 J4 for Portrait Photography
Panasonic FS12 for Portrait Photography
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Street Photography
Panasonic FS12 for Street Photography
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Fast Lens at Wide: f2.80
31 mm - Not so Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Sports Photography
Panasonic FS12 for Sports Photography
Fast Continuous Shooting: 60.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
105 Cross Type Focus sensors
171 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
124 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 2.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Focus Points
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.90
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography
Panasonic FS12 for Daily Photography
Compact Body
129g
Body Thickness 22mm
4.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography
Panasonic FS12 for Landscape Photography
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Live-view
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
31 mm - Not so Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic FS12, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.
Here is a summary of how Nikon 1 J4 and Panasonic FS12 scores compare:
Nikon 1 J4
Ranked
#70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#327 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Panasonic FS12
Ranked
#106 out of 155 in Ultracompact cameras
Ranked
#1098 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Nikon 1 J4 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Panasonic FS12 in all criteria except one: Portability. But the size difference between these cameras are negligible in real world so it is not a big disadvantage for Nikon 1 J4.
| General |
Nikon 1 J4 |
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS12 |
| Brand |
Nikon |
Panasonic |
| Announced |
2014-04-10 |
2009-04-17 |
| Body Type |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Ultracompact |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CCD |
| Size |
1" |
1/2.3" |
| Dimensions |
13.2 x 8.8 mm |
6.08 x 4.56 mm |
| Area |
116.16mm2 |
27.72mm2 |
| Megapixels |
18 megapixels |
12 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5232 x 3488 |
4000 x 3000 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
12,800 ISO |
1,600 ISO |
| Max Boosted Light Sensitivity |
- |
6400 ISO |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
160 ISO |
80 ISO |
| RAW Support |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
| AF Touch |
|
|
| AF Continuous |
|
|
| AF Single |
|
|
| AF Tracking |
|
|
| AF Selective |
|
|
| AF Center |
|
|
| AF Multi Area |
|
|
| AF Live View |
|
|
| AF Face Detection |
|
|
| AF Contrast Detection |
|
|
| AF Phase Detection |
|
|
| Number of Focus Points |
171 |
n/a |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Nikon 1 |
fixed lens |
| Lens Focal Range |
no lens |
31-124 mm (4×) |
| Max Aperture |
no lens |
F2.8-5.9 |
| Macro Focus Range |
no lens |
5cm |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fixed type |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3" |
2.7" |
| Resolution |
1,037k dots |
230k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
None |
None |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/4000s |
1/2000s |
| Max Electronic Shutter |
1/16000s |
n/a |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
Optical |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
5.00 m (ISO 100) |
6.30 m |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
60.0 fps |
2.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
1920 x 1080 |
640 x 480 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
Motion JPEG |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
232g |
129g |
| Dimensions |
100 x 60 x 29mm |
97 x 55 x 22mm |
| Battery Life |
300 shots |
n/a |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |