Pentax WS80 vs Sony QX10

Its time to take a deeper look at the Pentax WS80 versus Sony QX10, one is a Waterproof and the other is a Lens-style by manufacturers Pentax and Sony. There is a huge difference among the image resolutions of the WS80 (10MP) and QX10 (18MP) but both cameras offer the identical sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The WS80 was announced 5 years prior to the QX10 which is a fairly significant gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Pentax WS80 being a Compact camera and the Sony QX10 being a Lens-style camera.

Before diving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the WS80 grades versus the QX10 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Pentax Optio WS80 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX10. The whole galleries are viewable at Pentax WS80 Gallery and Sony QX10 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry around your camera frequently, you will want to take into account its weight and volume. The Pentax WS80 features outer dimensions of 92mm x 60mm x 22mm (3.6" x 2.4" x 0.9") having a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) whilst the Sony QX10 has sizing of 62mm x 62mm x 33mm (2.4" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 105 grams (0.23 lbs).

Examine the Pentax WS80 versus Sony QX10 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you use at the time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the WS80 vs the QX10.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the WS80 and QX10 is 95 and 96 respectively.

Oftentimes, its difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor sizes simply by going through technical specs. The pic below should provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the WS80 and QX10.

As you have seen, both of these cameras come with the identical sensor size but not the same resolution. You should expect to see the Sony QX10 to provide more detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop images a good deal more aggressively. The more aged WS80 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.