Panasonic ZS5 vs Pentax K-500

Below is a in-depth analysis of the Panasonic ZS5 versus Pentax K-500, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the ZS5 (12MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the ZS5 (1/2.3") and K-500 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor size.

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The ZS5 was announced 4 years earlier than the K-500 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS5 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a in-depth comparison, here is a concise overview of how the ZS5 grades vs the K-500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 & Pentax K-500. The whole galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS5 Gallery & Pentax K-500 Gallery.

In case you're looking to lug around your camera often, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS5 comes with physical measurements of 103mm x 60mm x 32mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 214 grams (0.47 lbs) while the Pentax K-500 has measurements of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic ZS5 versus Pentax K-500 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are working with at that moment. Here is a front view size comparison of the ZS5 and the K-500.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZS5 and K-500 is 92 and 64 respectively.

Normally, it's difficult to envision the gap between sensor measurements simply by going over specs. The photograph here may offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the ZS5 and K-500.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The ZS5 having a tinier sensor will make shooting shallower DOF tougher and the Pentax K-500 will offer you more detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older ZS5 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.