Pentax S1 vs Sony A37

Its time to take a deeper look at the Pentax S1 and Sony A37, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Pentax and Sony. The image resolution of the S1 (14MP) and the A37 (16MP) is pretty well matched but the S1 (1/2.3") and A37 (APS-C) boast different sensor measurements.

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The S1 was released 14 months prior to the A37 which makes them a generation apart from each other. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Pentax S1 being a Compact camera and the Sony A37 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a detailed comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the S1 matches up vs the A37 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Pentax Optio S1 and Sony SLT-A37. The complete galleries are viewable at Pentax S1 Gallery and Sony A37 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to lug around your camera often, you'll have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Pentax S1 enjoys external dimensions of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst the Sony A37 has measurements of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") along with a weight of 506 grams (1.12 lbs).

Look at the Pentax S1 and Sony A37 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you have at the time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the S1 and the A37.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the S1 and A37 is 93 and 67 respectively.

Usually, it is hard to visualize the gap between sensor measurements purely by reading through technical specs. The graphic here will provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the S1 and A37.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The S1 because of its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony A37 will resolve more detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older S1 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.