Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax 645Z

Below is a comprehensive comparison of the Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax 645Z, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Pro DSLR by brands Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the FX580 (12MP) and 645Z (51MP) and the FX580 (1/2.3") and 645Z (Medium format) boast different sensor dimensions.

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The FX580 was announced 6 years prior to the 645Z and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FX580 being a Compact camera and the Pentax 645Z being a Large SLR camera.

Before we go right into a in depth comparison, here is a short overview of how the FX580 scores against the 645Z with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX580 & Pentax 645Z. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic FX580 Gallery & Pentax 645Z Gallery.

For anyone who is going to lug around your camera regularly, you're going to have to factor in its weight and measurements. The Panasonic FX580 provides external measurements of 95mm x 57mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) and the Pentax 645Z has proportions of 156mm x 117mm x 123mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 4.8") and a weight of 1550 grams (3.42 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax 645Z in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are utilising during that time. Following is a front view dimension comparison of the FX580 and the 645Z.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the FX580 and 645Z is 95 and 49 respectively.

Typically, it is very hard to imagine the gap in sensor measurements only by researching a spec sheet. The photograph below will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the FX580 and 645Z.

As you can see, the 2 cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The FX580 with its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field harder and the Pentax 645Z will result in extra detail with its extra 39 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older FX580 will be behind in sensor technology.