Clicky

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500

Portability
95
Imaging
35
Features
34
Overall
34
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX90 front
 
Pentax K-500 front
Portability
64
Imaging
58
Features
70
Overall
62

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 Key Specs

Panasonic FX90
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-120mm (F2.5-5.9) lens
  • 149g - 102 x 56 x 22mm
  • Launched August 2011
Pentax K-500
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 646g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Introduced November 2013
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 Overview

Here is a in depth overview of the Panasonic FX90 and Pentax K-500, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a crucial gap among the image resolutions of the FX90 (12MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the FX90 (1/2.3") and K-500 (APS-C) use totally different sensor measurements.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The FX90 was manufactured 3 years prior to the K-500 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic FX90 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going through a in-depth comparison, below is a short summary of how the FX90 grades against the K-500 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images
	
	

Reasons to pick Panasonic FX90 over the Pentax K-500

 FX90 K-500 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-500 over the Panasonic FX90

 K-500 FX90 
IntroducedNovember 2013August 2011Fresher by 27 months
Manual focus Very precise focusing
Screen resolution921k460kCrisper screen (+461k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic FX90 and Pentax K-500

 FX90 K-500 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen measurements
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 Physical Comparison

When you are looking to carry your camera, you will need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FX90 has got external dimensions of 102mm x 56mm x 22mm (4.0" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 149 grams (0.33 lbs) while the Pentax K-500 has dimensions of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic FX90 and Pentax K-500 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have attached at that time. The following is the front view dimensions comparison of the FX90 versus the K-500.

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FX90 and K-500 is 95 and 64 respectively.

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it can be tough to envision the contrast in sensor sizing merely by going through a spec sheet. The photograph below might offer you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the FX90 and K-500.

Clearly, both of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The FX90 because of its smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF trickier and the Pentax K-500 will show extra detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older FX90 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 sensor size comparison

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FX90 Portrait photography info
Pentax K-500 Portrait photography info
21
lack of manual focus
manual exposure not possible
can't use external flash
low MP (12MP)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
74
manual focus
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
offers face detection focus
exports RAW files
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic FX90
Street photography with Pentax K-500
62
image stabilization (Optical)
features touch to focus
fixed screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
68
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW files
above average high ISO (51,600)
no moving screen
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Sports Comparison

Panasonic FX90 Sports photography features
Pentax K-500 Sports photography features
30
image stabilization (Optical)
has tracking autofocus
continuous shooting slow (4.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
low MP (12 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
low battery life (200 shots)
does not have phase detect auto focus
72
great max shutter speed (1/6,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
offers tracking autofocus
good battery power (710 shots)
sensor has phase detect auto focus
slow frames per second (6.0 fps)
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Panasonic FX90 Travel photography features
Pentax K-500 Travel photography features
60
features touch to focus
has built in flash
really wide (24mm)
no Timelapse recording
low battery life (200 per charge)
low MP (12 megapixels)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
slow max aperture (f2.5)
67
good battery power (710 per charge)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
built-in flash
screen isn't selfie friendly
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Landscape Comparison

Panasonic FX90 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-500 as a Landscape photography camera
36
really wide (24mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f2.5)
manual exposure not possible
low MP (12MP)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
low battery life (200 shots)
no Timelapse recording
79
manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
above average high ISO (51,600)
exports RAW files
good battery power (710 CIPA)
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic FX90
Vlogging with Pentax K-500
33
really wide (24mm)
touchscreen functionality
image stabilization (Optical)
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
slow max aperture (f2.5)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
no external microphone socket
30
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
screen isn't selfie friendly
lack of external microphone socket
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FX90 and Pentax K-500
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX90Pentax K-500
General Information
Company Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX90 Pentax K-500
Type Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Launched 2011-08-26 2013-11-27
Physical type Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - PRIME M
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Highest resolution 4000 x 3000 4928 x 3264
Highest native ISO 6400 51600
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 23 11
Cross focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens focal range 24-120mm (5.0x) -
Highest aperture f/2.5-5.9 -
Macro focus range 3cm -
Number of lenses - 151
Crop factor 5.9 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 460k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech TFT LCD TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/6000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 4.0fps 6.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 5.90 m 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60, 30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4, AVCHD MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 149 grams (0.33 lbs) 646 grams (1.42 lbs)
Dimensions 102 x 56 x 22mm (4.0" x 2.2" x 0.9") 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 79
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.7
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.1
DXO Low light score not tested 1087
Other
Battery life 200 shots 710 shots
Form of battery Battery Pack AA
Battery model - 4 x AA
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Launch pricing $227 $600