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Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500

Portability
88
Imaging
35
Features
44
Overall
38
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 front
 
Pentax K-500 front
Portability
64
Imaging
58
Features
70
Overall
62

Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 Key Specs

Panasonic LX5
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/1.63" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-90mm (F2.0-3.3) lens
  • 271g - 110 x 65 x 43mm
  • Launched December 2011
  • Earlier Model is Panasonic LX3
  • Newer Model is Panasonic LX7
Pentax K-500
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 646g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Announced November 2013
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Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 Overview

The following is a complete analysis of the Panasonic LX5 versus Pentax K-500, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a sizeable gap among the image resolutions of the LX5 (10MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the LX5 (1/1.63") and K-500 (APS-C) use different sensor measurements.

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The LX5 was announced 23 months earlier than the K-500 making the cameras a generation away from one another. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic LX5 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting in to a in-depth comparison, below is a quick overview of how the LX5 grades versus the K-500 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic LX5 over the Pentax K-500

 LX5 K-500 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-500 over the Panasonic LX5

 K-500 LX5 
AnnouncedNovember 2013December 2011Newer by 23 months
Display resolution921k460kClearer display (+461k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic LX5 and Pentax K-500

 LX5 K-500 
Manual focus More accurate focus
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurements
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch display Neither provides Touch display

Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to travel with your camera, you're going to have to take into account its weight and volume. The Panasonic LX5 provides outer measurements of 110mm x 65mm x 43mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) while the Pentax K-500 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") and a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic LX5 versus Pentax K-500 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the LX5 compared to the K-500.

Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the LX5 and K-500 is 88 and 64 respectively.

Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 top view buttons comparison

Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is very hard to imagine the gap in sensor dimensions purely by researching specifications. The picture below will help give you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the LX5 and K-500.

To sum up, both of these cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The LX5 having a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF more difficult and the Pentax K-500 will result in more detail with its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged LX5 will be behind in sensor tech.

Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 sensor size comparison

Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic LX5 Portrait photography info
Pentax K-500 Portrait photography info
41
manual focus
delivers RAW files
sensor resolution not great (10 megapixels)
sensor is very small (1/1.63")
74
you can focus manually
good megapixels (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
has face detect autofocus
delivers RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Panasonic LX5 Street photography info
Pentax K-500 Street photography info
59
built in image stabilization (Optical)
delivers RAW files
no moving screen
sensor is very small (1/1.63")
heavier than competition (271 grams)
68
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
above average high ISO (51,600)
screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic LX5 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax K-500 as a Sports photography camera
27
built in image stabilization (Optical)
max frames per second low (3.0 frames per second)
sensor resolution not great (10 megapixels)
sensor is very small (1/1.63")
lacks phase detect autofocus
72
high shutter speed (1/6,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
has tracking focus
great battery life (710 per charge)
has phase detect autofocus
low fps (6.0 fps)
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Panasonic LX5
Travel photography with Pentax K-500
59
flash built-in
reasonably wide (24mm)
fast max aperture (f2.0)
no Time Lapse recording
heavier than competition (271g)
sensor resolution not great (10 megapixels)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
67
great battery life (710 shots)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
display is not selfie friendly
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Panasonic LX5 Landscape photography highlights
Pentax K-500 Landscape photography highlights
52
manual focus
reasonably wide (24mm)
fast max aperture (f2.0)
screen size is decent (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
delivers RAW files
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sensor resolution not great (10MP)
sensor is very small (1/1.63")
no Time Lapse recording
79
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
above average high ISO (51,600)
delivers RAW formats
great battery life (710 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic LX5 Vlogging details
Pentax K-500 Vlogging details
29
reasonably wide (24mm)
fast max aperture (f2.0)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
low res video (1280 x 720 pxls)
no mic socket
heavier than competition (271g)
30
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detect autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
display is not selfie friendly
missing microphone socket
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Panasonic LX5 vs Pentax K-500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic LX5 and Pentax K-500
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5Pentax K-500
General Information
Make Panasonic Pentax
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Pentax K-500
Category Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Launched 2011-12-15 2013-11-27
Physical type Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Venus Engine FHD PRIME M
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/1.63" APS-C
Sensor measurements 8.07 x 5.56mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 44.9mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Max resolution 3648 x 2736 4928 x 3264
Max native ISO 12800 51600
Minimum native ISO 80 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 23 11
Cross type focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens zoom range 24-90mm (3.8x) -
Maximal aperture f/2.0-3.3 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Available lenses - 151
Crop factor 4.5 1.5
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 460 thousand dots 921 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech - TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/6000s
Continuous shutter rate 3.0fps 6.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 7.20 m 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize - 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD Lite MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 271 gr (0.60 pounds) 646 gr (1.42 pounds)
Dimensions 110 x 65 x 43mm (4.3" x 2.6" x 1.7") 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 41 79
DXO Color Depth rating 19.6 23.7
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.8 13.1
DXO Low light rating 132 1087
Other
Battery life - 710 shots
Battery type - AA
Battery ID - 4 x AA
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One One
Price at release $294 $600