Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-500

Lets look more closely at the Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-500, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Panasonic and Pentax. There is a big difference between the resolutions of the ZS7 (12MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the ZS7 (1/2.3") and K-500 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor sizing.

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The ZS7 was unveiled 3 years before the K-500 and that is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS7 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go straight to a in depth comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the ZS7 matches up against the K-500 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 and Pentax K-500. The full galleries are viewable at Panasonic ZS7 Gallery and Pentax K-500 Gallery.

For those who are intending to lug around your camera, you need to factor in its weight and volume. The Panasonic ZS7 offers outer dimensions of 103mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 218 grams (0.48 lbs) and the Pentax K-500 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Take a look at the Panasonic ZS7 vs Pentax K-500 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have at that time. Here is a front view measurements comparison of the ZS7 compared to the K-500.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the ZS7 and K-500 is 91 and 64 respectively.

Generally, its difficult to visualise the difference between sensor measurements only by looking at a spec sheet. The photograph below will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the ZS7 and K-500.

As you can see, each of the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The ZS7 having a tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF tougher and the Pentax K-500 will resolve greater detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The older ZS7 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.