Pentax K-5 vs Pentax Q10

Let's look more closely at the Pentax K-5 vs Pentax Q10, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both of them are created by Pentax. There is a substantial difference between the resolutions of the K-5 (16MP) and Q10 (12MP) and the K-5 (APS-C) and Q10 (1/2.3") have different sensor size.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The K-5 was unveiled 21 months before the Q10 making them a generation apart from each other. The two cameras have different body design with the Pentax K-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax Q10 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go into a detailed comparison, here is a brief introduction of how the K-5 scores versus the Q10 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Pentax K-5 & Pentax Q10. The full galleries are available at Pentax K-5 Gallery & Pentax Q10 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera, you have to take into account its weight and measurements. The Pentax K-5 has outer measurements of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") along with a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs) whilst the Pentax Q10 has proportions of 102mm x 58mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.3") along with a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

See the Pentax K-5 vs Pentax Q10 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the K-5 versus the Q10.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the K-5 and Q10 is 60 and 92 respectively.

In many cases, its tough to picture the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading technical specs. The graphic here will help give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the K-5 and Q10.

As you have seen, each of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The K-5 with its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Pentax K-5 will offer greater detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution will enable you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The older K-5 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.