Panasonic FZ80 vs Pentax WG-2 GPS

Lets look much closer at the Panasonic FZ80 vs Pentax WG-2 GPS, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Waterproof by manufacturers Panasonic and Pentax. The sensor resolution of the FZ80 (18MP) and the WG-2 GPS (16MP) is pretty close and both cameras boast the identical sensor size (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The FZ80 was revealed 4 years later than the WG-2 GPS and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic FZ80 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Pentax WG-2 GPS being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a concise summary of how the FZ80 scores vs the WG-2 GPS in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ80 & Pentax Optio WG-2 GPS. The full galleries are available at Panasonic FZ80 Gallery & Pentax WG-2 GPS Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera, you should think about its weight and size. The Panasonic FZ80 features outside dimensions of 130mm x 94mm x 119mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.7") along with a weight of 616 grams (1.36 lbs) whilst the Pentax WG-2 GPS has specifications of 122mm x 61mm x 30mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 1.2") with a weight of 198 grams (0.44 lbs).

See the Panasonic FZ80 vs Pentax WG-2 GPS in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are using at that time. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the FZ80 and the WG-2 GPS.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FZ80 and WG-2 GPS is 63 and 91 respectively.

Normally, it is very hard to visualise the gap in sensor measurements simply by looking through technical specs. The visual underneath may offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the FZ80 and WG-2 GPS.

As you can tell, both of these cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit not the same resolution. You can expect the Panasonic FZ80 to render greater detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The fresher FZ80 is going to have an advantage in sensor tech.