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Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II

Portability
92
Imaging
35
Features
30
Overall
33
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 front
 
Pentax K-5 II front
Portability
60
Imaging
58
Features
82
Overall
67

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II Key Specs

Panasonic ZS5
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-300mm (F3.3-4.9) lens
  • 214g - 103 x 60 x 32mm
  • Announced June 2010
  • Other Name is Lumix DMC-TZ8
Pentax K-5 II
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Expand to 51200)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 760g - 131 x 97 x 73mm
  • Launched June 2013
  • Earlier Model is Pentax K-5
Photography Glossary

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II Overview

Its time to look a bit more in depth at the Panasonic ZS5 and Pentax K-5 II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a substantial gap among the resolutions of the ZS5 (12MP) and K-5 II (16MP) and the ZS5 (1/2.3") and K-5 II (APS-C) use different sensor sizing.

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The ZS5 was unveiled 4 years prior to the K-5 II and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic ZS5 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-5 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving in to a detailed comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the ZS5 matches up against the K-5 II in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS5 over the Pentax K-5 II

 ZS5 K-5 II 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-5 II over the Panasonic ZS5

 K-5 II ZS5 
LaunchedJune 2013June 2010More recent by 36 months
Focus manually Very precise focus
Screen sizing3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution921k230kSharper screen (+691k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic ZS5 and Pentax K-5 II

 ZS5 K-5 II 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither provides Touch friendly screen

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II Physical Comparison

For those who are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic ZS5 provides external dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 214 grams (0.47 lbs) while the Pentax K-5 II has dimensions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") along with a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs).

Check the Panasonic ZS5 and Pentax K-5 II in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are using during that time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the ZS5 against the K-5 II.

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the ZS5 and K-5 II is 92 and 60 respectively.

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II top view buttons comparison

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II Sensor Comparison

Normally, its tough to visualize the difference in sensor measurements simply by looking through specs. The visual underneath will help give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS5 and K-5 II.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The ZS5 using its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Pentax K-5 II will provide you with greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older ZS5 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II sensor size comparison

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic ZS5 Portrait photography factors
Pentax K-5 II Portrait photography factors
27
has face detection autofocus
no manual focus
cannot use external flash
low resolution sensor (12MP)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
74
has manual focus
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
comes with face detection focus
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Panasonic ZS5 as a Street photography camera
Pentax K-5 II as a Street photography camera
61
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors (214g)
no articulating screen
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
environment proofing
no articulating screen
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic ZS5 Sports photography features
Pentax K-5 II Sports photography features
31
image stabilization (Optical)
has tracking autofocus
low maximum shutter speed (1/1,300s)
max frames per second very slow (2.0 fps)
low resolution sensor (12MP)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
79
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
comes with tracking autofocus
environment proofing
has phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic ZS5 Travel photography features
Pentax K-5 II Travel photography features
63
lighter than competitors (214 grams)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (25mm)
great reach (300mm)
does not have Time Lapse recording
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
slow max aperture (f3.3)
65
environment proofing
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Panasonic ZS5
Landscape photography with Pentax K-5 II
33
reasonably wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
no manual focus
can't change lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
tiny screen (2.7 inch)
low resolution sensor (12MP)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
does not have Time Lapse recording
79
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
resolution is good (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
environment proofing
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic ZS5 Vlogging highlights
Pentax K-5 II Vlogging highlights
31
reasonably wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detection autofocus
lighter than competitors (214 grams)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
does not have external mic support
33
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
has external mic port
display is not selfie friendly
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Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-5 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic ZS5 and Pentax K-5 II
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5Pentax K-5 II
General Information
Brand Panasonic Pentax
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 Pentax K-5 II
Alternative name Lumix DMC-TZ8 -
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced DSLR
Announced 2010-06-16 2013-06-04
Body design Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by Venus Engine HD II Prime II
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 27.7mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Full resolution 4000 x 3000 4928 x 3264
Max native ISO 6400 12800
Max boosted ISO - 51200
Minimum native ISO 80 100
RAW files
Minimum boosted ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 11 11
Cross type focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens zoom range 25-300mm (12.0x) -
Largest aperture f/3.3-4.9 -
Macro focusing distance 3cm -
Number of lenses - 151
Focal length multiplier 5.9 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 2.7 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 230k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display technology - TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/1300s 1/8000s
Continuous shooting speed 2.0 frames/s 7.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 5.30 m 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, High speed, Rear curtain and Wireless
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (25 fps), 1280 x 720 (25, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (25, 30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data format Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 214g (0.47 lb) 760g (1.68 lb)
Dimensions 103 x 60 x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") 131 x 97 x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 82
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.8
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 14.1
DXO Low light rating not tested 1235
Other
Battery life - 980 photos
Battery form - Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Retail pricing $300 $830