Panasonic ZS100 vs Pentax K-30

Its time to look more closely at the Panasonic ZS100 vs Pentax K-30, former is a Large Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There is a noticeable difference among the resolutions of the ZS100 (20MP) and K-30 (16MP) and the ZS100 (1") and K-30 (APS-C) posses different sensor measurements.

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The ZS100 was introduced 3 years after the K-30 which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera and the Pentax K-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting into a in depth comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the ZS100 scores vs the K-30 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 & Pentax K-30. The whole galleries are available at Panasonic ZS100 Gallery & Pentax K-30 Gallery.

In case you're intending to travel with your camera, you'll have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS100 comes with external measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") and a weight of 312 grams (0.69 lbs) while the Pentax K-30 has measurements of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

Look at the Panasonic ZS100 vs Pentax K-30 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you select at that moment. Following is a front view over all size comparison of the ZS100 vs the K-30.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the ZS100 and K-30 is 87 and 63 respectively.

Often, it is difficult to imagine the gap in sensor dimensions purely by researching a spec sheet. The picture below should offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the ZS100 and K-30.

Clearly, both of these cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The ZS100 with its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF tougher and the Panasonic ZS100 will render greater detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will help you crop pictures way more aggressively. The newer ZS100 provides a benefit with regard to sensor technology.