Panasonic ZS100 vs Pentax K-5 IIs

The following is a thorough review of the Panasonic ZS100 vs Pentax K-5 IIs, former is a Large Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap among the image resolutions of the ZS100 (20MP) and K-5 IIs (16MP) and the ZS100 (1") and K-5 IIs (APS-C) provide totally different sensor sizes.

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The ZS100 was released 2 years after the K-5 IIs which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera and the Pentax K-5 IIs being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a short summary of how the ZS100 matches up vs the K-5 IIs when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 & Pentax K-5 IIs. The complete galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS100 Gallery & Pentax K-5 IIs Gallery.

If you're going to travel with your camera regularly, you should take into account its weight and measurements. The Panasonic ZS100 comes with external measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 312 grams (0.69 lbs) and the Pentax K-5 IIs has proportions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") along with a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs).

Analyze the Panasonic ZS100 vs Pentax K-5 IIs in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are employing at the time. Here is a front view measurement comparison of the ZS100 against the K-5 IIs.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS100 and K-5 IIs is 87 and 60 respectively.

Typically, it can be hard to envision the contrast in sensor dimensions simply by researching technical specs. The pic below will help provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the ZS100 and K-5 IIs.

As you have seen, each of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The ZS100 due to its smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF tougher and the Panasonic ZS100 will render greater detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The younger ZS100 is going to have a benefit with regard to sensor technology.