Panasonic ZR3 vs Pentax K-7

On this page, we are comparing the Panasonic ZR3 versus Pentax K-7, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. The sensor resolution of the ZR3 (14MP) and the K-7 (15MP) is fairly close but the ZR3 (1/2.3") and K-7 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The ZR3 was released 4 months after the K-7 and they are of a similar generation. The two cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZR3 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-7 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a short summary of how the ZR3 matches up against the K-7 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR3 and Pentax K-7. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic ZR3 Gallery and Pentax K-7 Gallery.

If you are going to travel with your camera often, you need to think about its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZR3 offers outer dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") and a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-7 has sizing of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") and a weight of 750 grams (1.65 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic ZR3 versus Pentax K-7 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have chosen during that time. Below is a front view sizing comparison of the ZR3 against the K-7.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the ZR3 and K-7 is 94 and 60 respectively.

Often, its tough to see the contrast in sensor dimensions only by viewing technical specs. The image here will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZR3 and K-7.

As you can tell, each of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The ZR3 because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallow DOF tougher and the Pentax K-7 will render more detail as a result of its extra 1 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop pics more aggressively.