Upgrade suggestion from Stylus 1

John McCormack wrote:

My choice would be the Panasonic FZ300 since it has similar specs to the Stylus 1 but is bigger. I own one and like it a lot but prefer Olympus colors. Currently the FZ is in stock at a good price at the big online sellers.

I have both the FZ300 and the Stylus-1. I've been thinking of selling the FZ300 since I also own micro 4/3rds cameras, and I haven't used the FZ300 in awhile. I bought it used for a vacation in Hawaii in 2018, and I haven't used it much after 2019.

Note, I only shoot JPG. I do use the 2x electronic zoom on Olympus gear (but not on Panasonic gear where I feel it degrades the image, but the Olympus 2x zoom does not degrade the image as much). Because I use the 2x electronic zoom, the extra zoom range on the FZ300 doesn't buy me that much.

Part of the issue is the size. It is the same size as my E-m5 mark 1 or mark III with the 14-150mm f/4-5.6 lens. But obviously, if you don't have the larger high end gear, the weight and size calculation will be different. The main reason I like the Stylus-1 is I can put the camera in a pants or jacket pocket, and only take it out if I'm going to take pictures. With the FZ300 (or the micro 4/3rds gear), you need to carry it around with either a camera bag or on a neck/shoulder strap. Or I can throw the Stylus-1 it in a cramped suitcase a lot easier.

The FZ300 uses a 1/2.3" sensor, while the Stylus-1 uses the 1/1.7" sensor. While both cameras have a f/2.8 lens, I feel the Stylus-1 is better at low light without a flash shots. I would probably rate it as a stop better. Where I might usually shoot the Stylus-1 up to ISO 800 and sometimes push it to ISO 1600, I would typically want the FZ300 to be at ISO 400 and push it to ISO 800. Unfortunately, I don't track the FZ300 in my photography statistics, so I can't say how often I've used it at higher ISO's. I attribute this to a combination of the sensor size and Panasonics JPG algorithms tend to make the picture turn to mush sooner than the Olympus.

But the FZ300 does have some advantages:

• It is splash resistant, and I have shot with it in light rain.
• It has a native zoom of the equivalent of 25-600mm without using electronic zoom.
• It is better for recording movies (fully articulating screen, external microphone, support for using a dummy battery, 4K video support, etc.).
• You can use filters like polarizing filters directly.
• It is newer than the Stylus-1, and it is still being sold by Panasonic.
• It has an OLED viewfinder which means if you wear polarized sunglasses, you won't get distortions in the viewfinder when shooting in horizontal mode.