Panasonic ZS1 vs Pentax KP

Let's look a little more closely at the Panasonic ZS1 vs Pentax KP, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a considerable gap between the image resolutions of the ZS1 (10MP) and KP (24MP) and the ZS1 (1/2.5") and KP (APS-C) boast totally different sensor dimensions.

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The ZS1 was launched 8 years before the KP which is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS1 being a Compact camera and the Pentax KP being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight to a detailed comparison, here is a quick view of how the ZS1 scores vs the KP with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 & Pentax KP. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic ZS1 Gallery & Pentax KP Gallery.

For those who are going to carry around your camera regularly, you should factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS1 offers external dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs) and 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 out the Panasonic ZS1 vs Pentax KP in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have at that time. Underneath is a front view measurement comparison of the ZS1 and the KP.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS1 and KP is 91 and 61 respectively.

Sometimes, its hard to see the contrast between sensor sizes purely by checking technical specs. The picture here may give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS1 and KP.

As you have seen, both the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The ZS1 featuring a tinier sensor will make getting bokeh more challenging and the Pentax KP will give you more detail utilizing its extra 14 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos more aggressively. The more aged ZS1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.