- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- Sony NEX-5N
- Nikon D5100
- Canon EOS 60D
- Fujifilm X-S1
- Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
Rated 80% by by DPReview (Nov, 2012)A high speed (Class 6 or faster) card is highly recommended for best camera performance.
Rated 80% by by TrustedReviews (Jun, 2012)While that ticks most of the boxes of what can be expected from an entry-level DSLR, the headline-grabbing feature of the D3200 is undoubtedly its 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 compared to the Nikon D3200
MP12
1/2.5"
Rated 80% by by DPReview (Nov, 2012)Other improvements compared to the FZ150 include an HDR feature (plus more special effects), in-camera panorama stitching, and high speed movie recording.
24.1 MP
APS-C
Rated 73% by by DPReview (Jul, 2012)Color rendition, tonality sharpness and detail are as good as identical.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 24.1 MP   | 30 MP |
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by Photography Blog (Oct, 2012)Stand-out features of the FZ200 include a 24x zoom lens with a constant aperture of f/2.8 throughout the 25-600mm range, 1080p HD movies, a high-resolution LCD and EVF, fast auto-focusing, 12fps burst shooting and a 12 megapixel MOS image sensor.
D3200 by mad-G.I. (Mar, 2013)Even older camera's, in the single digit mega pixel range, take equally good photos, when you print to normal size frames, so don't get excited about the megapixels, because in the end, they just eat up hard drive space, with no real gain.
sensor size
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by Photography Blog (Oct, 2012)You can only view the results on a 3D TV (the FZ200 records standard MPO files), and although it isn't as effective as images taken with Panasonic's 3D Micro Four Thirds lens or the Fujifilm 3D W3, for example, it does create quite a convincing effect which particularly suits subjects that are close-up to the camera.
D3200 by DPReview (Jul, 2012)The viewfinder of the D3200 is basically the same as its predecessor, and offers coverage of 95% and a magnification of 0.8X. These numbers might not mean much, but in normal shooting, the D3200 offers a reasonably large, bright finder which compares well to its entry-level APS-C format peers.
body size
125 x 87 x 110 mm
125 x 96 x 77 mm
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by Br-David-Chris-Klecker (Mar, 2013)For any budding enthusiast or just someone who wants a lightweight camera for travelling this camera is highly recommended.
D3200 by Photography Blog (Jun, 2012)The 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR kit lens that Nikon supplied feels fairly well-balanced - if a tad front-heavy - on the Nikon D3200 and it fits into place with a reassuring mechanical click.
viewfinder size
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by Photography Blog (Oct, 2012)It's also very pleasing to find a viewfinder – here electronic (EVF) – which is 0.21" in size, offers 100% field of view and now has a much improved resolution of 1,312K dots, a big advance on previous FZ models.
D3200 by DPReview (Jul, 2012)In some ways it is a fairly 'old-fashioned' DSLR, but it is a solid performer in almost all areas and a good entry-level choice for those who prefer to frame their images through an optical viewfinder.
focus points
| 0 | 23 | 30 |
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by R.-Fieser (Apr, 2013)Others plusses of the FZ200 include fast focusing, intelligent AUTO HDR, and fast continuous burst modes.
D3200 by c|net (Jun, 2012)But I also hate the tiny focus points which only illuminate (and briefly) when you half-press the shutter.
Performance Real world tests of Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 vs Nikon D3200
battery life
540 photos
540 photos
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by Photography Blog (Oct, 2012)*1Recording conditions by CIPA standard / - CIPA is an abbreviation of [Camera & Imaging Products Association].
D3200 by Deborah-Roslan--pyrola (Dec, 2012)Good battery life,light weight are the pros, camera clock is somewhat inaccurate and the memory card was a little hot to remove after I shot a 300+ images at a wedding are the cons.
max continuous shooting
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by Rocco (Dec, 2012)I have taken good pictures of my son playing football, a quick-burst of my kid doing a handspring, and some beautiful pictures at a pumpkin patch.
DxOMark low light performance
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by Photography Blog (Oct, 2012)The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200's maximum shutter speed is 60 seconds in Manual shooting mode and the Starry Sky Mode scene mode, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography.
D3200 by Gablud (Oct, 2012)I have been using this camera for over 2 weeks now and I am more than satisfied with the quality of the images even in low light condition.
DxOMark image quality
Lumix DMC-FZ200 by otto0713 (Oct, 2012)The fine quality JPEGs will suffice for those who want high quality photos right out of the box.
D3200 by CKE (Jul, 2012)Image Quality - Absolutely top-notch - the Nikon D3200 takes super crisp photos with excellent color representation.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the Nikon D3200
| Image stabilization | Optical | vs | None |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supports image stabilization | |||
| Has a flip out screen | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Great for recording movies | |||
| Create realistic 3D images | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Create 3D photos to view on a 3D TV | |||
| Faster rapid fire | 12 fps | vs | 4 fps |
| 3x faster continuous shooting; Take photos in rapid succession to capture motion | |||
| Significantly more contrast-detection focus points | 23 | vs | 0 |
| 23 more contrast detection focus points; Better autofocus in low light settings | |||
| Shoots high speed video | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Create slow motion video | |||
| Automatic panorama | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Stitches together multiple photos into a single ultra-wide view | |||
| Supports HDR | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Combines multiple photos together to capture both bright and dark areas | |||
| More highly reviewed by consumers | 84.68% | vs | 80.95% |
| Around 5% more highly reviewed by consumers | |||
| Marginally more recently announced | Jul, 2012 | vs | Apr, 2012 |
| Announced date 3 months later | |||
| Longer long exposure | 60 s | vs | 30 s |
| 2x longer long exposure; Capture creative photos such as night sky movement | |||
Advantages compared to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200
| Significantly larger sensor | APS-C | vs | 1/2.5" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 13x larger sensor; higher quality photos | |||
| Much better overall image quality | 81.0 | vs | 37.0 |
| Around 2.2x better image quality | |||
| Much higher resolution | 24.1 MP | vs | 12 MP |
| More than 2x higher resolution; Capture more detail, good for large prints | |||
| Autofocus supports continuous | Yes | vs | No |
| About half of cameras support continuous | |||
| Much more color depth | 24.1 bits | vs | 19.1 bits |
| More than 25% more color depth | |||
| Much bigger viewfinder | 0.5x | vs | 0x |
| Compared to all cameras, 0.5x viewfinder is just OK | |||
| Significantly higher resolution screen | 921 k dots | vs | 460 k dots |
| More than 2x higher resolution screen | |||
| Interchangeable lenses | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Use a variety of specialized lenses | |||
| Much larger dynamic range | 13.2 ev | vs | 10.8 ev |
| More than 20% larger dynamic range | |||
| Significantly less noise at high ISO | 1,131 ISO | vs | 114 ISO |
| Around 10x higher low light performance | |||
| Shoots video in 24p | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; For that film look | |||
| More phase-detection focus points | 11 | vs | 0 |
| 11 more phase detection focus points; Faster autofocus in reasonably lit settings | |||
| Higher light sensitivity | 12,800 ISO | vs | 6,400 ISO |
| 2x higher light sensitivity; Avoid blur in low light situations | |||
| Thinner | 77 mm | vs | 110 mm |
| More than 30% thinner | |||
| Smaller | 125 x 96 x 77 mm | vs | 125 x 87 x 110 mm |
| Around 25% smaller | |||
| Lighter | 505 g | vs | 588 g |
| Around 15% lighter | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 | Nikon D3200 | ||
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 | Rated by 109 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by lumixliker (Nov, 2012) Rated 100% by by titaniumrx--titaniumrx (Feb, 2013) | Rated by 324 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by killahca-h (May, 2012) Rated 100% by by Gene-B (Jun, 2012) | |
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Sony NEX-5N Has a touch screen |
 | 2 | Nikon D5100 Largest sensor |
 | 3 | Canon EOS 60D Is weather sealed |
 | 4 | Fujifilm X-S1 Many more contrast-detection focus points |
 | 7 | Canon EOS 600D 2-way tie: Highest resolution screen |
