Panasonic ZS10 vs Pentax K-3 II

Let's look closer at the Panasonic ZS10 vs Pentax K-3 II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the ZS10 (14MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the ZS10 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) enjoy different sensor dimensions.

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The ZS10 was revealed 5 years earlier than the K-3 II 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 ZS10 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going through a complete comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the ZS10 matches up vs the K-3 II with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 & Pentax K-3 II. The full galleries are viewable at Panasonic ZS10 Gallery & Pentax K-3 II Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to carry your camera frequently, you will want to take into account its weight and size. The Panasonic ZS10 has outside dimensions of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 219 grams (0.48 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 II has specifications of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") along with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Check the Panasonic ZS10 vs Pentax K-3 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at that time. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the ZS10 and the K-3 II.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS10 and K-3 II is 91 and 59 respectively.

Typically, it is hard to picture the difference in sensor sizing purely by viewing technical specs. The photograph here will provide you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS10 and K-3 II.

As you can tell, both of those cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The ZS10 using its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field more difficult and the Pentax K-3 II will render greater detail because of its extra 10MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics far more aggressively. The older ZS10 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.