Panasonic ZS45 vs Pentax K100D S

Below is a detailed review of the Panasonic ZS45 versus Pentax K100D S, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the ZS45 (16MP) and K100D S (6MP) and the ZS45 (1/2.3") and K100D S (APS-C) have different sensor sizing.

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The ZS45 was brought out 7 years later than the K100D S and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS45 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K100D S being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving right into a detailed comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the ZS45 matches up versus the K100D S in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS45 and Pentax K100D Super. The entire galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS45 Gallery and Pentax K100D S Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera often, you will need to think about its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZS45 enjoys external dimensions of 108mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs) and the Pentax K100D S has sizing of 129mm x 91mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.8") with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic ZS45 versus Pentax K100D S in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the ZS45 against the K100D S.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the ZS45 and K100D S is 91 and 65 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to picture the difference between sensor measurements only by reading through a spec sheet. The graphic below should offer you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS45 and K100D S.

As you can see, the two cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The ZS45 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF more difficult and the Panasonic ZS45 will give greater detail having its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The fresher ZS45 provides an edge with regard to sensor technology.