Pentax ist DL2 vs Sony H20

Its time to look closer at the Pentax ist DL2 and Sony H20, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Pentax and Sony. There is a sizable difference among the image resolutions of the ist DL2 (6MP) and H20 (10MP) and the ist DL2 (APS-C) and H20 (1/2.3") posses different sensor size.

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The ist DL2 was unveiled 4 years before the H20 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Pentax ist DL2 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony H20 being a Compact camera.

Before we go into a complete comparison, here is a quick summary of how the ist DL2 grades against the H20 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Pentax ist DL2 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20. The full galleries are available at Pentax ist DL2 Gallery & Sony H20 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry your camera, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Pentax ist DL2 offers physical dimensions of 125mm x 93mm x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6") and a weight of 565 grams (1.25 lbs) whilst the Sony H20 has measurements of 107mm x 69mm x 47mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.9") having a weight of 250 grams (0.55 lbs).

Examine the Pentax ist DL2 and Sony H20 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have attached at that time. Here is a front view measurements comparison of the ist DL2 versus the H20.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the ist DL2 and H20 is 69 and 87 respectively.

In many cases, it's hard to imagine the difference in sensor sizing only by seeing a spec sheet. The graphic here should offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the ist DL2 and H20.

Clearly, both of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The ist DL2 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony H20 will produce greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs more aggressively. The older ist DL2 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.