Panasonic FX90 vs Pentax K-S1

In this article, we will be evaluating the Panasonic FX90 and Pentax K-S1, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a sizeable gap among the image resolutions of the FX90 (12MP) and K-S1 (20MP) and the FX90 (1/2.3") and K-S1 (APS-C) come with different sensor measurements.

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The FX90 was released 4 years before the K-S1 and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic FX90 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-S1 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving through a more detailed comparison, below is a simple summary of how the FX90 grades against the K-S1 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX90 and Pentax K-S1. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic FX90 Gallery and Pentax K-S1 Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to consider its weight and measurements. The Panasonic FX90 offers outside measurements 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-S1 has proportions of 121mm x 93mm x 70mm (4.8" x 3.7" x 2.8") along with a weight of 558 grams (1.23 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic FX90 and Pentax K-S1 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the FX90 compared to the K-S1.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FX90 and K-S1 is 95 and 69 respectively.

Quite often, it is hard to picture the contrast in sensor measurements simply by researching specs. The visual below may give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the FX90 and K-S1.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FX90 due to its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more challenging and the Pentax K-S1 will render greater detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older FX90 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.