Pentax K-30 vs Pentax P80

Following is a in-depth review of the Pentax K-30 versus Pentax P80, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are built by Pentax. There exists a huge gap among the sensor resolutions of the K-30 (16MP) and P80 (12MP) and the K-30 (APS-C) and P80 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The K-30 was released 3 years after the P80 which is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Pentax K-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax P80 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a complete comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the K-30 grades against the P80 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Pentax K-30 and Pentax Optio P80. The complete galleries are viewable at Pentax K-30 Gallery and Pentax P80 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to carry around your camera often, you should take into account its weight and size. The Pentax K-30 comes with physical measurements of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs) whilst the Pentax P80 has specifications of 102mm x 59mm x 25mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.0") having a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

See the Pentax K-30 versus Pentax P80 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have at that moment. Following is a front view measurements comparison of the K-30 against the P80.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the K-30 and P80 is 63 and 95 respectively.

Quite often, it is difficult to envision the gap in sensor sizes only by going through technical specs. The image underneath will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the K-30 and P80.

As you can tell, both of the cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The K-30 because of its bigger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Pentax K-30 will produce greater detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will let you crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The more modern K-30 is going to have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.