Panasonic S1 vs Pentax K-5

Let's look a bit more closely at the Panasonic S1 and Pentax K-5, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a large gap between the sensor resolutions of the S1 (12MP) and K-5 (16MP) and the S1 (1/2.3") and K-5 (APS-C) use totally different sensor dimensions.

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The S1 was manufactured around the same time to the K-5 and they are both of a similar age. Both cameras come with different body type with the Panasonic S1 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go through a complete comparison, below is a short summation of how the S1 scores against the K-5 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-S1 & Pentax K-5. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic S1 Gallery & Pentax K-5 Gallery.

When you are intending to lug around your camera often, you're going to have to factor in its weight and volume. The Panasonic S1 provides physical measurements of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs) while the Pentax K-5 has sizing of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") accompanied by a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic S1 and Pentax K-5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the S1 against the K-5.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the S1 and K-5 is 96 and 60 respectively.

Quite often, it can be difficult to envision the contrast between sensor measurements purely by reading a spec sheet. The visual below should offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the S1 and K-5.

Clearly, both cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The S1 featuring a tinier sensor will make shooting bokeh more difficult and the Pentax K-5 will offer more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively.