Panasonic FZ40 vs Pentax K10D

Below is a extended analysis of the Panasonic FZ40 vs Pentax K10D, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Pentax. There is a sizable difference among the sensor resolutions of the FZ40 (14MP) and K10D (10MP) and the FZ40 (1/2.3") and K10D (APS-C) possess totally different sensor size.

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The FZ40 was manufactured 3 years later than the K10D and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic FZ40 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Pentax K10D being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a brief overview of how the FZ40 scores against the K10D with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40 & Pentax K10D. The entire galleries are viewable at Panasonic FZ40 Gallery & Pentax K10D Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera regularly, you're going to have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic FZ40 enjoys outside dimensions of 120mm x 80mm x 92mm (4.7" x 3.1" x 3.6") along with a weight of 494 grams (1.09 lbs) whilst the Pentax K10D has dimensions of 142mm x 101mm x 70mm (5.6" x 4.0" x 2.8") having a weight of 793 grams (1.75 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic FZ40 vs Pentax K10D in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are working with at that moment. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the FZ40 vs the K10D.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the FZ40 and K10D is 68 and 59 respectively.

Usually, it's hard to envision the gap in sensor measurements just by going through technical specs. The graphic below may give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the FZ40 and K10D.

As you can tell, each of the cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The FZ40 due to its smaller sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field harder and the Panasonic FZ40 will produce extra detail due to its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more recent FZ40 will have an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.