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Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3

Portability
95
Imaging
34
Features
29
Overall
32
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX580 front
 
Pentax K-3 front
Portability
59
Imaging
65
Features
85
Overall
73

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 Key Specs

Panasonic FX580
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600 (Push to 6400)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-125mm (F2.8-5.9) lens
  • 167g - 95 x 57 x 22mm
  • Announced January 2009
  • Additionally referred to as Lumix DMC-FX550
Pentax K-3
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Announced April 2014
  • New Model is Pentax K-3 II
Photography Glossary

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 Overview

On this page, we are comparing the Panasonic FX580 and Pentax K-3, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Advanced DSLR by brands Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the FX580 (12MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the FX580 (1/2.3") and K-3 (APS-C) have different sensor measurements.

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The FX580 was launched 6 years before the K-3 which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FX580 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going into a thorough comparison, here is a quick summary of how the FX580 matches up versus the K-3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FX580 over the Pentax K-3

 FX580 K-3 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 over the Panasonic FX580

 K-3 FX580 
AnnouncedApril 2014January 2009Newer by 63 months
Focus manually Very precise focusing
Display dimensions3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k230kSharper display (+807k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic FX580 and Pentax K-3

 FX580 K-3 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen
Touch friendly display Lacking Touch friendly display

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 Physical Comparison

If you're going to travel with your camera, you'll have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FX580 has outer 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 K-3 has dimensions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic FX580 and Pentax K-3 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you choose at the time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the FX580 and the K-3.

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the FX580 and K-3 is 95 and 59 respectively.

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is difficult to visualize the contrast between sensor dimensions just by reading specs. The picture here will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the FX580 and K-3.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The FX580 because of its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Pentax K-3 will deliver greater detail utilizing its extra 12MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The more aged FX580 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 sensor size comparison

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FX580 Portrait photography factors
Pentax K-3 Portrait photography factors
26
has face detect autofocus
lack of manual focus
manual exposure not possible
can't use external flash
low resolution sensor (12MP)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW files
79
focusing manually
good resolution (24 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports face detect focusing
supports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Panasonic FX580 Street photography advice
Pentax K-3 Street photography advice
56
image stabilization (Optical)
no moving screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW files
69
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW files
environment sealing
great ISO range (51,200)
no moving screen
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic FX580 Sports photography features
Pentax K-3 Sports photography features
27
image stabilization (Optical)
max frames per second low (2.0 fps)
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
76
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (24 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports tracking focus
environment sealing
comes with phase detect AF
bad battery pack (560 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic FX580 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax K-3 as a Travel photography camera
58
flash built-in
reasonably wide (25mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
60
environment sealing
good resolution (24 megapixels)
has built in flash
bad battery pack (560 shots)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic FX580 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-3 as a Landscape photography camera
36
reasonably wide (25mm)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
manual exposure not possible
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW files
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
77
focusing manually
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen is a good size (3.2 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
doesnt have anti aliasing filter
great ISO range (51,200)
supports RAW files
environment sealing
2 card slots
bad battery pack (560 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic FX580 Vlogging features
Pentax K-3 Vlogging features
30
reasonably wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect autofocus
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
screen is not selfie friendly
low res video (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have mic support
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detect focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does have microphone support
display isn't selfie friendly
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Panasonic FX580 vs Pentax K-3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FX580 and Pentax K-3
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX580Pentax K-3
General Information
Manufacturer Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX580 Pentax K-3
Also Known as Lumix DMC-FX550 -
Class Small Sensor Compact Advanced DSLR
Announced 2009-01-27 2014-04-10
Physical type Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor - Prime III
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 27.7mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 24MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 3:2
Max resolution 4000 x 3000 6016 x 4000
Max native ISO 1600 51200
Max enhanced ISO 6400 -
Min native ISO 80 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 11 27
Cross focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens focal range 25-125mm (5.0x) -
Largest aperture f/2.8-5.9 -
Macro focus range 5cm -
Available lenses - 151
Focal length multiplier 5.9 1.5
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inches 3.2 inches
Display resolution 230k dots 1,037k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display tech - TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 30s
Max shutter speed 1/2000s 1/8000s
Continuous shutter rate 2.0 frames per second 8.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 6.00 m 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync Auto, on, off, red-eye, slow sync, slow sync + red-eye, trailing curtain sync, high speed, wireless, manual
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 167 grams (0.37 pounds) 800 grams (1.76 pounds)
Physical dimensions 95 x 57 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 80
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.7
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.4
DXO Low light score not tested 1216
Other
Battery life - 560 photos
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery model - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/MMC/SDHC card, Internal Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots 1 Dual
Retail price $499 $639