Panasonic ZS20 vs Pentax K-7

Lets look much closer at the Panasonic ZS20 and Pentax K-7, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Pentax. The resolution of the ZS20 (14MP) and the K-7 (15MP) is fairly well matched but the ZS20 (1/2.3") and K-7 (APS-C) come with different sensor sizes.

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The ZS20 was released 2 years later than the K-7 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic ZS20 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-7 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a full comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the ZS20 matches up vs the K-7 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 and Pentax K-7. The complete galleries are available at Panasonic ZS20 Gallery and Pentax K-7 Gallery.

If you are going to lug around your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and measurements. The Panasonic ZS20 has got outer dimensions of 105mm x 59mm x 28mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 206 grams (0.45 lbs) while the Pentax K-7 has proportions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") having a weight of 750 grams (1.65 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZS20 and Pentax K-7 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are using at the time. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the ZS20 versus the K-7.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZS20 and K-7 is 92 and 60 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to visualize the contrast between sensor measurements simply by reading through a spec sheet. The graphic below will offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS20 and K-7.

Clearly, the 2 cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The ZS20 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF more difficult and the Pentax K-7 will resolve more detail as a result of its extra 1MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop photos a little more aggressively. The more modern ZS20 should have a benefit in sensor technology.