Panasonic LX10 vs Pentax K-5

Below is a comprehensive assessment of the Panasonic LX10 versus Pentax K-5, one being a Large Sensor Compact and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There is a big difference between the resolutions of the LX10 (20MP) and K-5 (16MP) and the LX10 (1") and K-5 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizes.

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The LX10 was released 5 years later than the K-5 and that is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic LX10 being a Large Sensor Compact camera and the Pentax K-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go through a detailed comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the LX10 grades versus the K-5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX10 and Pentax K-5. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic LX10 Gallery and Pentax K-5 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to lug around your camera often, you will want to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic LX10 provides external dimensions of 106mm x 60mm x 42mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.7") having a weight of 310 grams (0.68 lbs) while the Pentax K-5 has dimensions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") with a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs).

See the Panasonic LX10 versus Pentax K-5 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are using at that moment. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the LX10 and the K-5.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the LX10 and K-5 is 88 and 60 respectively.

Oftentimes, its difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor measurements merely by reading through technical specs. The visual below will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the LX10 and K-5.

As you can tell, both of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The LX10 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field tougher and the Panasonic LX10 will give more detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The more recent LX10 provides a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.