Pentax W90 vs Sony WX30
94 Imaging
35 Features
21 Overall
29


96 Imaging
39 Features
41 Overall
39
Pentax W90 vs Sony WX30 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 2.7" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 6400
- 1280 x 720 video
- 28-140mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
- 164g - 108 x 59 x 25mm
- Revealed February 2010
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 25-125mm (F2.6-6.3) lens
- 117g - 92 x 52 x 19mm
- Released July 2011

Pentax W90 vs Sony WX30 Overview
Its time to examine more closely at the Pentax W90 versus Sony WX30, one being a Waterproof and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Pentax and Sony. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the W90 (12MP) and WX30 (16MP) but they feature the exact same sensor sizing (1/2.3").

The W90 was revealed 17 months before the WX30 which makes the cameras a generation apart from each other. Each of these cameras come with the identical body type (Compact).
Before delving straight into a full comparison, below is a simple overview of how the W90 grades vs the WX30 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Pentax W90 vs Sony WX30 Gallery
Following is a preview of the gallery images for Pentax Optio W90 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX30. The full galleries are available at Pentax W90 Gallery and Sony WX30 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Pentax W90 over the Sony WX30
W90 | WX30 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual focus | ![]() | More accurate focus |
Reasons to pick Sony WX30 over the Pentax W90
WX30 | W90 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | July 2011 | ![]() | February 2010 | Fresher by 17 months |
Screen dimension | 3" | ![]() | 2.7" | Bigger screen (+0.3") |
Screen resolution | 922k | ![]() | 230k | Crisper screen (+692k dot) |
Touch screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Pentax W90 and Sony WX30
W90 | WX30 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed screen |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Absent selfie screen |
Pentax W90 vs Sony WX30 Physical Comparison
For anybody who is planning to carry your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Pentax W90 enjoys external measurements of 108mm x 59mm x 25mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.0") and a weight of 164 grams (0.36 lbs) and the Sony WX30 has dimensions of 92mm x 52mm x 19mm (3.6" x 2.0" x 0.7") having a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs).
See the Pentax W90 versus Sony WX30 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are employing at that moment. Here is the front view size comparison of the W90 and the WX30.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the W90 and WX30 is 94 and 96 respectively.

Pentax W90 vs Sony WX30 Sensor Comparison
Often, its tough to imagine the contrast between sensor sizing simply by looking at technical specs. The photograph here will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the W90 and WX30.
As you have seen, the two cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements albeit different MP. You should expect the Sony WX30 to give you more detail because of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older W90 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Pentax W90 vs Sony WX30 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Pentax W90 vs Sony WX30 Specifications
Pentax Optio W90 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX30 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand Name | Pentax | Sony |
Model | Pentax Optio W90 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX30 |
Type | Waterproof | Small Sensor Compact |
Revealed | 2010-02-24 | 2011-07-25 |
Physical type | Compact | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | Prime | BIONZ |
Sensor type | CCD | BSI-CMOS |
Sensor size | 1/2.3" | 1/2.3" |
Sensor measurements | 6.17 x 4.55mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor surface area | 28.1mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 12 megapixels | 16 megapixels |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 4:3 and 16:9 |
Maximum resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4608 x 3456 |
Maximum native ISO | 6400 | 3200 |
Lowest native ISO | 80 | 100 |
RAW pictures | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch to focus | ||
Continuous AF | ||
Single AF | ||
AF tracking | ||
AF selectice | ||
Center weighted AF | ||
AF multi area | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detection AF | ||
Contract detection AF | ||
Phase detection AF | ||
Number of focus points | 9 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mounting type | fixed lens | fixed lens |
Lens focal range | 28-140mm (5.0x) | 25-125mm (5.0x) |
Largest aperture | f/3.5-5.5 | f/2.6-6.3 |
Macro focus distance | 1cm | 5cm |
Focal length multiplier | 5.8 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Screen type | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Screen diagonal | 2.7 inch | 3 inch |
Screen resolution | 230 thousand dots | 922 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch function | ||
Screen tech | - | XtraFine TFT LCD display |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | None | None |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 4 secs | 30 secs |
Highest shutter speed | 1/1500 secs | 1/1600 secs |
Continuous shooting rate | 1.0 frames/s | 10.0 frames/s |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Set WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash range | 3.90 m | 3.70 m |
Flash modes | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft | Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync |
External flash | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) | 1920 x 1080 (60fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 1280 x 720 (30fps), 640 x 480 (30fps) |
Maximum video resolution | 1280x720 | 1920x1080 |
Video format | Motion JPEG | MPEG-4, AVCHD |
Microphone support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | Eye-Fi Connected | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environmental sealing | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 164g (0.36 lb) | 117g (0.26 lb) |
Dimensions | 108 x 59 x 25mm (4.3" x 2.3" x 1.0") | 92 x 52 x 19mm (3.6" x 2.0" x 0.7") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light score | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 250 images |
Type of battery | - | Battery Pack |
Battery model | D-LI68 | NP-BN1 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 10 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Type of storage | SD/SDHC card, Internal | SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo |
Card slots | Single | Single |
Launch cost | $120 | $259 |