Pentax P80 vs Sony QX100

The following is a detailed analysis of the Pentax P80 versus Sony QX100, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Lens-style by competitors Pentax and Sony. There is a significant difference between the sensor resolutions of the P80 (12MP) and QX100 (20MP) and the P80 (1/2.3") and QX100 (1") use different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The P80 was unveiled 5 years earlier than the QX100 which is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Pentax P80 being a Compact camera and the Sony QX100 being a Lens-style camera.

Before getting in to a complete comparison, below is a quick view of how the P80 matches up versus the QX100 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Pentax Optio P80 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100. The full galleries are provided at Pentax P80 Gallery and Sony QX100 Gallery.

If you're aiming to travel with your camera, you will need to think about its weight and volume. The Pentax P80 offers external measurements of 102mm x 59mm x 25mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.0") having a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) and the Sony QX100 has sizing of 63mm x 63mm x 56mm (2.5" x 2.5" x 2.2") accompanied by a weight of 179 grams (0.39 lbs).

Compare the Pentax P80 versus Sony QX100 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is the front view sizing comparison of the P80 versus the QX100.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the P80 and QX100 is 95 and 92 respectively.

In many cases, it is tough to imagine the contrast between sensor dimensions only by reading through specifications. The pic below might offer you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the P80 and QX100.

Plainly, the two cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The P80 having a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony QX100 will give you more detail having an extra 8MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged P80 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.