Panasonic S3 vs Pentax KP

Let's look much closer at the Panasonic S3 and Pentax KP, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the S3 (14MP) and KP (24MP) and the S3 (1/2.3") and KP (APS-C) possess different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The S3 was announced 7 years before the KP and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera and the Pentax KP being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving in to a complete comparison, below is a concise summation of how the S3 scores versus the KP with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3 & Pentax KP. The whole galleries are provided at Panasonic S3 Gallery & Pentax KP Gallery.

If you're intending to carry your camera, you have to factor its weight and proportions. The Panasonic S3 has got physical dimensions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs) while the Pentax KP has measurements of 132mm x 101mm x 76mm (5.2" x 4.0" x 3.0") with a weight of 703 grams (1.55 lbs).

Check the Panasonic S3 and Pentax KP in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have at that moment. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the S3 and the KP.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the S3 and KP is 96 and 61 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to imagine the difference in sensor sizing purely by researching a spec sheet. The visual underneath may provide you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the S3 and KP.

As you can see, both of those cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The S3 using its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF harder and the Pentax KP will result in extra detail with its extra 10MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop photos a little more aggressively. The older S3 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.