Panasonic ZS50 vs Pentax K-3

Below is a extensive comparison of the Panasonic ZS50 versus Pentax K-3, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the ZS50 (12MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the ZS50 (1/2.3") and K-3 (APS-C) provide different sensor dimensions.

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The ZS50 was launched 10 months later than the K-3 which means that they are both of a similar generation. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic ZS50 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving into a detailed comparison, here is a brief overview of how the ZS50 matches up vs the K-3 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 and Pentax K-3. The complete galleries are provided at Panasonic ZS50 Gallery and Pentax K-3 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to think about its weight and proportions. The Panasonic ZS50 features external measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 34mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3") along with a weight of 243 grams (0.54 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 has measurements of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Compare the Panasonic ZS50 versus Pentax K-3 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you select during that time. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the ZS50 vs the K-3.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZS50 and K-3 is 90 and 59 respectively.

More often than not, it's tough to picture the gap between sensor measurements purely by going over technical specs. The visual here will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the ZS50 and K-3.

As you can tell, both of the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The ZS50 because of its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more difficult and the Pentax K-3 will offer you more detail utilizing its extra 12MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The fresher ZS50 should have an advantage in sensor tech.