Pentax K-5 IIs vs Pentax W90

Below is a extended review of the Pentax K-5 IIs and Pentax W90, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Waterproof and both are produced by Pentax. There exists a considerable gap among the resolutions of the K-5 IIs (16MP) and W90 (12MP) and the K-5 IIs (APS-C) and W90 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The K-5 IIs was manufactured 3 years later than the W90 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Pentax K-5 IIs being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax W90 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a quick overview of how the K-5 IIs scores versus the W90 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Pentax K-5 IIs & Pentax Optio W90. The entire galleries are viewable at Pentax K-5 IIs Gallery & Pentax W90 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to lug around your camera, you're going to have to factor its weight and proportions. The Pentax K-5 IIs provides outside dimensions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") along with a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs) and the Pentax W90 has measurements of 108mm x 59mm x 25mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.0") along with a weight of 164 grams (0.36 lbs).

Check out the Pentax K-5 IIs and Pentax W90 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose during that time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the K-5 IIs vs the W90.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the K-5 IIs and W90 is 60 and 94 respectively.

Sometimes, it's hard to visualise the gap in sensor measurements purely by looking through specs. The visual underneath will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the K-5 IIs and W90.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The K-5 IIs featuring a bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Pentax K-5 IIs will result in more detail due to its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop shots a little more aggressively. The more recent K-5 IIs will have a benefit in sensor tech.