Panasonic ZS80 vs Pentax K-500

Here is a in-depth review of the Panasonic ZS80 and Pentax K-500, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the ZS80 (20MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the ZS80 (1/2.3") and K-500 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The ZS80 was announced 4 years later than the K-500 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic ZS80 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a detailed comparison, below is a concise synopsis of how the ZS80 scores versus the K-500 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS80 & Pentax K-500. The whole galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS80 Gallery & Pentax K-500 Gallery.

In case you're going to carry your camera often, you are going to need to consider its weight and size. The Panasonic ZS80 provides outside dimensions of 112mm x 69mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.7" x 1.7") having a weight of 327 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-500 has specifications of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

See the Panasonic ZS80 and Pentax K-500 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are utilising at that time. The following is the front view scale comparison of the ZS80 versus the K-500.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the ZS80 and K-500 is 86 and 64 respectively.

More often than not, it's tough to see the difference between sensor sizing purely by checking a spec sheet. The visual below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS80 and K-500.

As you can see, the 2 cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The ZS80 having a tinier sensor will make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Panasonic ZS80 will give you greater detail with its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs much more aggressively. The more recent ZS80 is going to have an edge with regard to sensor technology.