Panasonic L10 vs Pentax RZ18

Below is a in depth analysis of the Panasonic L10 and Pentax RZ18, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Panasonic and Pentax. There is a sizable difference between the resolutions of the L10 (10MP) and RZ18 (16MP) and the L10 (Four Thirds) and RZ18 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor measurements.

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The L10 was manufactured 4 years prior to the RZ18 and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Panasonic L10 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax RZ18 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a in depth comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the L10 grades against the RZ18 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 & Pentax Optio RZ18. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic L10 Gallery & Pentax RZ18 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera, you will need to factor its weight and proportions. The Panasonic L10 offers physical measurements of 135mm x 96mm x 78mm (5.3" x 3.8" x 3.1") along with a weight of 556 grams (1.23 lbs) and the Pentax RZ18 has measurements of 97mm x 61mm x 33mm (3.8" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 178 grams (0.39 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic L10 and Pentax RZ18 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you choose during that time. Following is a front view dimension comparison of the L10 compared to the RZ18.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the L10 and RZ18 is 66 and 92 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to envision the contrast between sensor measurements just by reading specs. The visual underneath might give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the L10 and RZ18.

As you can plainly see, both cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The L10 due to its larger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Pentax RZ18 will offer greater detail due to its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older L10 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.