Panasonic ZS100 vs Pentax K10D

Let's look more closely at the Panasonic ZS100 and Pentax K10D, one being a Large Sensor Compact and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a big gap between the image resolutions of the ZS100 (20MP) and K10D (10MP) and the ZS100 (1") and K10D (APS-C) posses different sensor dimensions.

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The ZS100 was released 9 years later than the K10D and that is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera and the Pentax K10D being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go right into a complete comparison, here is a quick synopsis of how the ZS100 scores vs the K10D in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 and Pentax K10D. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic ZS100 Gallery and Pentax K10D Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry your camera frequently, you will need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS100 features outer measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 44mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 312 grams (0.69 lbs) whilst the Pentax K10D has measurements of 142mm x 101mm x 70mm (5.6" x 4.0" x 2.8") with a weight of 793 grams (1.75 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZS100 and Pentax K10D in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have during that time. Below is a front view over all size comparison of the ZS100 versus the K10D.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the ZS100 and K10D is 87 and 59 respectively.

Typically, its hard to visualize the difference between sensor sizing merely by going over specs. The visual below may give you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the ZS100 and K10D.

All in all, each of these cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The ZS100 because of its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Panasonic ZS100 will deliver more detail as a result of its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The newer ZS100 should have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.