Pentax P80 vs Sony A100

Its time to look more in depth at the Pentax P80 versus Sony A100, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Pentax and Sony. The sensor resolution of the P80 (12MP) and the A100 (10MP) is pretty comparable but the P80 (1/2.3") and A100 (APS-C) posses different sensor size.

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The P80 was announced 3 years after the A100 which is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Pentax P80 being a Compact camera and the Sony A100 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go into a thorough comparison, here is a quick overview of how the P80 grades against the A100 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Pentax Optio P80 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A100. The whole galleries are available at Pentax P80 Gallery and Sony A100 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to travel with your camera often, you will want to think about its weight and proportions. The Pentax P80 features external measurements of 102mm x 59mm x 25mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.0") and a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) and the Sony A100 has measurements of 133mm x 95mm x 71mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 2.8") with a weight of 638 grams (1.41 lbs).

Check the Pentax P80 versus Sony A100 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you select at the time. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the P80 vs the A100.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the P80 and A100 is 95 and 64 respectively.

Often, it's difficult to imagine the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by checking out specs. The picture below might provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the P80 and A100.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The P80 having a smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Pentax P80 will produce extra detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The younger P80 should have an advantage in sensor technology.