Nikon D700 vs Pentax K-30

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Nikon D700 and Pentax K-30, both Advanced DSLR digital cameras by competitors Nikon and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the D700 (12MP) and K-30 (16MP) and the D700 (Full frame) and K-30 (APS-C) enjoy different sensor size.

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The D700 was unveiled 5 years earlier than the K-30 and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras come with the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).

Before getting straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a brief summary of how the D700 grades against the K-30 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Nikon D700 and Pentax K-30. The full galleries are available at Nikon D700 Gallery and Pentax K-30 Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera, you're going to have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Nikon D700 comes with external measurements of 147mm x 123mm x 77mm (5.8" x 4.8" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 1074 grams (2.37 lbs) and the Pentax K-30 has measurements of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") and a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

Check the Nikon D700 and Pentax K-30 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have chosen at the time. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the D700 against the K-30.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the D700 and K-30 is 54 and 63 respectively.

More often than not, it is very tough to visualize the gap between sensor measurements merely by looking at technical specs. The graphic below might offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the D700 and K-30.

As you have seen, the 2 cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The D700 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Pentax K-30 will resolve extra detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots much more aggressively. The older D700 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.