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Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II

Portability
92
Imaging
37
Features
39
Overall
37
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 front
 
Pentax K-3 II front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73

Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II Key Specs

Panasonic ZS8
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-384mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 210g - 105 x 58 x 33mm
  • Introduced July 2011
  • Additionally referred to as Lumix DMC-TZ18
  • Previous Model is Panasonic ZS7
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 Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Announced April 2015
  • Succeeded the Pentax K-3
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Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II Overview

Its time to look more in depth at the Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Panasonic and Pentax. There exists a substantial gap among the resolutions of the ZS8 (14MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the ZS8 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) offer totally different sensor sizes.

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The ZS8 was released 4 years earlier than the K-3 II and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Panasonic ZS8 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a brief summation of how the ZS8 scores versus the K-3 II in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Panasonic ZS8 over the Pentax K-3 II

 ZS8 K-3 II 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Panasonic ZS8

 K-3 II ZS8 
AnnouncedApril 2015July 2011Fresher by 45 months
Focus manually More precise focusing
Display dimensions3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k230kCrisper display (+807k dot)

Common features in the Panasonic ZS8 and Pentax K-3 II

 ZS8 K-3 II 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch friendly display Absent Touch friendly display

Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to carry your camera regularly, you will want to think about its weight and measurements. The Panasonic ZS8 offers external dimensions of 105mm x 58mm x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") having a weight of 210 grams (0.46 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 II has proportions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

See the Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have during that time. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the ZS8 versus the K-3 II.

Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ZS8 and K-3 II is 92 and 59 respectively.

Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II top view buttons comparison

Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its tough to visualise the contrast in sensor sizing only by looking through a spec sheet. The visual underneath may offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the ZS8 and K-3 II.

Clearly, both of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The ZS8 featuring a smaller sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field harder and the Pentax K-3 II will render greater detail as a result of its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos more aggressively. The older ZS8 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.

Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II sensor size comparison

Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and ViewFinder

Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Panasonic ZS8 Portrait photography info
Pentax K-3 II Portrait photography info
30
MP count good (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
cannot use external flash
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
79
has manual focus
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
offers face detection autofocus
supports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Panasonic ZS8
Street photography with Pentax K-3 II
61
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors in class (210g)
screen is fixed
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW files
environment proof
above average high ISO (51,200)
screen does not articulate
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Panasonic ZS8
Sports photography with Pentax K-3 II
47
long zoom range (24-384mm 16.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
comes with tracking focus
max fps very slow (2.0 frames per second)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
76
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
offers tracking autofocus
environment proof
sensor has phase detect autofocus
bad battery pack (720 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Panasonic ZS8 Travel photography features
Pentax K-3 II Travel photography features
69
lighter than competitors in class (210g)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
quite wide (24mm)
great zoom (384mm)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
display isn't selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
56
environment proof
megapixel count decent (24MP)
bad battery pack (720 per charge)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Panasonic ZS8 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Landscape photography camera
44
quite wide (24mm)
screen is a good size (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14MP)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
doesn't have Timelapse recording
78
has manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen is a decent size (3.2 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
doesnt have low pass filter
above average high ISO (51,200)
supports RAW files
environment proof
two card slots
bad battery pack (720 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Panasonic ZS8 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Vlogging camera
30
quite wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors in class (210 grams)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
display isn't selfie friendly
low video resolution (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have microphone port
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
includes external microphone socket
does not posses selfie friendly screen
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Panasonic ZS8 vs Pentax K-3 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Panasonic ZS8 and Pentax K-3 II
 Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8Pentax K-3 II
General Information
Make Panasonic Pentax
Model Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 Pentax K-3 II
Also called as Lumix DMC-TZ18 -
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced DSLR
Introduced 2011-07-19 2015-04-23
Physical type Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Chip Venus Engine FHD 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 area 27.7mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 24MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Peak resolution 4320 x 3240 6016 x 4000
Highest native ISO 6400 51200
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points 11 27
Cross focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens focal range 24-384mm (16.0x) -
Highest aperture f/3.3-5.9 -
Macro focus range 3cm -
Amount of lenses - 151
Focal length multiplier 5.9 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inch 3.2 inch
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dots 1,037 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen tech TFT LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shutter rate 2.0 frames per sec 8.3 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 5.00 m no built-in flash
Flash modes 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)
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4 MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Optional
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 210 grams (0.46 pounds) 800 grams (1.76 pounds)
Physical dimensions 105 x 58 x 33mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 80
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.6
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.6
DXO Low light score not tested 1106
Other
Battery life 340 photos 720 photos
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Single Two
Launch price $275 $829