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Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II

Portability
91
Imaging
35
Features
33
Overall
34
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 front
 
Pentax K-3 II front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73

Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II Key Specs

Panasonic ZS7
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-300mm (F3.3-4.9) lens
  • 218g - 103 x 60 x 33mm
  • Launched July 2011
  • Alternate Name is Lumix DMC-TZ10
  • Newer Model is Panasonic ZS8
Pentax K-3 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Announced April 2015
  • Old Model is Pentax K-3
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Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II Overview

Following is a detailed review of the Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There is a sizeable difference among the sensor resolutions of the ZS7 (12MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the ZS7 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) use different sensor measurements.

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The ZS7 was revealed 4 years earlier than the K-3 II which is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Panasonic ZS7 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving in to a thorough comparison, below is a brief overview of how the ZS7 scores versus the K-3 II when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS7 over the Pentax K-3 II

 ZS7 K-3 II 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Panasonic ZS7

 K-3 II ZS7 
AnnouncedApril 2015July 2011More modern by 45 months
Focus manually Dial precise focus
Display sizing3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k460kSharper display (+577k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic ZS7 and Pentax K-3 II

 ZS7 K-3 II 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch friendly display Lack of Touch friendly display

Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II Physical Comparison

When you are going to carry around your camera regularly, you will need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Panasonic ZS7 has outside dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 218 grams (0.48 lbs) and the Pentax K-3 II has dimensions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") along with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Contrast the Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the ZS7 against the K-3 II.

Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the ZS7 and K-3 II is 91 and 59 respectively.

Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II top view buttons comparison

Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it can be hard to visualize the gap in sensor sizes simply by researching specs. The pic underneath will help offer you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS7 and K-3 II.

All in all, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The ZS7 using its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field tougher and the Pentax K-3 II will provide you with more detail because of its extra 12MP. Greater resolution will help you crop photos far more aggressively. The more aged ZS7 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II sensor size comparison

Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic ZS7 Portrait photography info
Pentax K-3 II Portrait photography info
21
lack of manual focus
can't use external flash
megapixel count low (12MP)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
79
has manual focus
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
provides face detect focus
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Panasonic ZS7 Street photography information
Pentax K-3 II Street photography information
60
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others in class (218 grams)
screen does not articulate
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
weather proof
good ISO range (51,200)
screen does not articulate
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Sports Comparison

Panasonic ZS7 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Sports photography camera
27
image stabilization (Optical)
low fps (2.0 frames/s)
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect AF
76
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
provides tracking focus
weather proof
has phase detect auto focus
not so great battery (720 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic ZS7 Travel photography advice
Pentax K-3 II Travel photography advice
63
lighter than others in class (218g)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (25mm)
great zoom (300mm)
does not have Time Lapse recording
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
56
weather proof
megapixel count good (24MP)
not so great battery (720 CIPA)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Panasonic ZS7 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Landscape photography camera
38
reasonably wide (25mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
lack of manual focus
cannot swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
does not have Time Lapse recording
78
has manual focus
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen is a good size (3.2 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
doesnt have anti-alias filter
good ISO range (51,200)
saves RAW formats
weather proof
has dual storage slots
not so great battery (720 per charge)
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic ZS7 Vlogging information
Pentax K-3 II Vlogging information
30
reasonably wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others in class (218 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
low res video (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have mic port
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detect focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
has microphone jack
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
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Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-3 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic ZS7 and Pentax K-3 II
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7Pentax K-3 II
General Information
Brand Panasonic Pentax
Model type Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 Pentax K-3 II
Also Known as Lumix DMC-TZ10 -
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced DSLR
Launched 2011-07-19 2015-04-23
Body design Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Venus Engine HD II Prime III
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Full resolution 4000 x 3000 6016 x 4000
Max native ISO 6400 51200
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 11 27
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens zoom range 25-300mm (12.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/3.3-4.9 -
Macro focusing range 3cm -
Total lenses - 151
Crop factor 5.9 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 3.2"
Display resolution 460 thousand dot 1,037 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 2.0fps 8.3fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 5.30 m no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Syncro Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, Wireless sync (available with dedicated external flash)
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync - 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 848 x 480 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD Lite MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Optional
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS BuiltIn BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 218 gr (0.48 lb) 800 gr (1.76 lb)
Dimensions 103 x 60 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 80
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.6
DXO Low light rating not tested 1106
Other
Battery life - 720 pictures
Battery format - 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 Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots 1 2
Cost at launch $350 $829