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Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II

Portability
67
Imaging
37
Features
62
Overall
47
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 front
 
Pentax K-3 II front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73

Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II Key Specs

Panasonic FZ100
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F2.8-5.2) lens
  • 540g - 124 x 82 x 92mm
  • Released July 2010
  • Newer Model is Panasonic FZ200
Pentax K-3 II
(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
  • Launched April 2015
  • Replaced the Pentax K-3
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Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II Overview

Below is a in-depth analysis of the Panasonic FZ100 and Pentax K-3 II, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Advanced DSLR by brands Panasonic and Pentax. There is a crucial difference between the sensor resolutions of the FZ100 (14MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the FZ100 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) offer totally different sensor measurements.

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The FZ100 was introduced 5 years earlier than the K-3 II and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Panasonic FZ100 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting into a detailed comparison, here is a concise overview of how the FZ100 grades vs the K-3 II in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic FZ100 over the Pentax K-3 II

 FZ100 K-3 II 
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Panasonic FZ100

 K-3 II FZ100 
LaunchedApril 2015July 2010More recent by 57 months
Display dimensions3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k460kCrisper display (+577k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic FZ100 and Pentax K-3 II

 FZ100 K-3 II 
Manual focus More accurate focus
Touch display Neither provides Touch display

Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to lug around your camera often, you have to consider its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FZ100 provides external measurements of 124mm x 82mm x 92mm (4.9" x 3.2" x 3.6") along with a weight of 540 grams (1.19 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 II has dimensions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic FZ100 and Pentax K-3 II in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Underneath is a front view measurements comparison of the FZ100 vs the K-3 II.

Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the FZ100 and K-3 II is 67 and 59 respectively.

Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II top view buttons comparison

Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II Sensor Comparison

Often, it can be tough to envision the gap between sensor measurements purely by going over technical specs. The photograph here will give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the FZ100 and K-3 II.

As you can tell, both cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The FZ100 using its tinier sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field trickier and the Pentax K-3 II will offer you more detail using its extra 10MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The older FZ100 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II sensor size comparison

Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic FZ100 Portrait photography advice
Pentax K-3 II Portrait photography advice
54
focusing manually
good megapixels (14MP)
has face detection focusing
saves RAW formats
small sensor (1/2.3")
79
focusing manually
good resolution (24MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
includes face detection focus
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Panasonic FZ100 Street photography features
Pentax K-3 II Street photography features
58
screen articulates
built in image stabilization (Optical)
saves RAW formats
small sensor (1/2.3")
more heavy than competition in class (540 grams)
69
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
environment proof
very good high ISO (51,200)
no articulating screen
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic FZ100 Sports photography information
Pentax K-3 II Sports photography information
51
great zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
has tracking autofocus
small sensor (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
76
high shutter speed (1/8,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (24 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
includes tracking autofocus
environment proof
supports phase detect auto focus
not so great battery (720 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic FZ100 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Travel photography camera
59
good megapixels (14MP)
has built in flash
screen is selfie friendly
relatively wide (25mm)
great reach (600mm)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
more heavy than competition in class (540g)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
56
environment proof
good resolution (24MP)
not so great battery (720 per charge)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic FZ100 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Landscape photography camera
51
focusing manually
relatively wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
saves RAW formats
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
small sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have Timelapse mode
78
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
pretty good screen size (3.2 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (24 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
doesnt have anti aliasing filter
very good high ISO (51,200)
saves RAW formats
environment proof
has double storage slots
not so great battery (720 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Panasonic FZ100
Vlogging with Pentax K-3 II
64
relatively wide (25mm)
screen is selfie friendly
built in image stabilization (Optical)
has face detection focusing
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external microphone support
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
more heavy than competition in class (540 grams)
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
comes with external mic port
display is not selfie friendly
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Panasonic FZ100 vs Pentax K-3 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic FZ100 and Pentax K-3 II
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100Pentax K-3 II
General Information
Brand Name Panasonic Pentax
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Pentax K-3 II
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced DSLR
Released 2010-07-21 2015-04-23
Body design SLR-like (bridge) Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine FHD Prime III
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Maximum resolution 4320 x 3240 6016 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 6400 51200
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points - 27
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens zoom range 25-600mm (24.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/2.8-5.2 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Amount of lenses - 151
Focal length multiplier 5.9 1.5
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inch 3.2 inch
Display resolution 460k dot 1,037k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 11.0fps 8.3fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 9.50 m no built-in flash
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, Wireless sync (available with dedicated external flash)
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync - 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format AVCHD MPEG-4, H.264
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Optional
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 540g (1.19 lb) 800g (1.76 lb)
Physical dimensions 124 x 82 x 92mm (4.9" x 3.2" x 3.6") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 80
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.6
DXO Low light rating not tested 1106
Other
Battery life - 720 pictures
Battery form - Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 secs) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots Single 2
Cost at launch $500 $829