Panasonic ZS3 vs Pentax K-S1

Here, we will be matching up the Panasonic ZS3 versus Pentax K-S1, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the ZS3 (10MP) and K-S1 (20MP) and the ZS3 (1/2.3") and K-S1 (APS-C) boast different sensor dimensions.

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The ZS3 was brought out 6 years before the K-S1 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS3 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-S1 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the ZS3 scores versus the K-S1 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 & Pentax K-S1. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS3 Gallery & Pentax K-S1 Gallery.

For those who are looking to lug around your camera often, you'll need to factor its weight and size. The Panasonic ZS3 features external dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 229 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Pentax K-S1 has specifications of 121mm x 93mm x 70mm (4.8" x 3.7" x 2.8") having a weight of 558 grams (1.23 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZS3 versus Pentax K-S1 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the ZS3 vs the K-S1.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZS3 and K-S1 is 91 and 69 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very hard to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements merely by going through specifications. The visual here should give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS3 and K-S1.

To sum up, both of the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The ZS3 due to its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field tougher and the Pentax K-S1 will produce greater detail having its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older ZS3 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.