Panasonic ZR1 vs Pentax K-3 II

Let's look a little more closely at the Panasonic ZR1 versus Pentax K-3 II, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a large gap between the sensor resolutions of the ZR1 (12MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the ZR1 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) possess totally different sensor measurements.

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The ZR1 was brought out 6 years before the K-3 II and that is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic ZR1 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going in to a detailed comparison, below is a simple summary of how the ZR1 matches up versus the K-3 II when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 & Pentax K-3 II. The entire galleries are available at Panasonic ZR1 Gallery & Pentax K-3 II Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry your camera often, you'll need to think about its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZR1 comes with exterior dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") with a weight of 158 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 II has sizing of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") and a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic ZR1 versus Pentax K-3 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the ZR1 against the K-3 II.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the ZR1 and K-3 II is 94 and 59 respectively.

Typically, it is hard to see the gap between sensor sizing only by reviewing specs. The graphic below may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZR1 and K-3 II.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The ZR1 featuring a tinier sensor will make achieving shallow DOF tougher and the Pentax K-3 II will deliver more detail having its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images far more aggressively. The older ZR1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.