Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-50

Below is a thorough analysis of the Panasonic FX90 and Pentax K-50, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Pentax. There is a large difference between the sensor resolutions of the FX90 (12MP) and K-50 (16MP) and the FX90 (1/2.3") and K-50 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The FX90 was released 3 years prior to the K-50 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FX90 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-50 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise overview of how the FX90 grades against the K-50 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX90 & Pentax K-50. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic FX90 Gallery & Pentax K-50 Gallery.

In case you're looking to lug around your camera often, you will have to take into account its weight and size. The Panasonic FX90 has outer dimensions of 102mm x 56mm x 22mm (4.0" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 149 grams (0.33 lbs) and the Pentax K-50 has specifications of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic FX90 and Pentax K-50 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are working with during that time. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the FX90 versus the K-50.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the FX90 and K-50 is 95 and 63 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is hard to see the difference between sensor measurements just by checking specifications. The visual underneath might provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the FX90 and K-50.

Plainly, both of those cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The FX90 due to its tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Pentax K-50 will resolve extra detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The older FX90 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.