Pentax ist DS2 vs Sony W800

Lets look a bit more closely at the Pentax ist DS2 and Sony W800, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Pentax and Sony. There is a significant difference between the resolutions of the ist DS2 (6MP) and W800 (20MP) and the ist DS2 (APS-C) and W800 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor sizes.

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The ist DS2 was brought out 9 years prior to the W800 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Pentax ist DS2 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony W800 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a short summation of how the ist DS2 scores versus the W800 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Pentax ist DS2 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W800. The entire galleries are available at Pentax ist DS2 Gallery and Sony W800 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera regularly, you have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Pentax ist DS2 offers external dimensions of 125mm x 93mm x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6") with a weight of 605 grams (1.33 lbs) and the Sony W800 has dimensions of 97mm x 55mm x 21mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.8") along with a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

Compare the Pentax ist DS2 and Sony W800 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is a front view overall size comparison of the ist DS2 against the W800.

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the ist DS2 and W800 is 68 and 96 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to visualise the contrast between sensor measurements just by looking at specifications. The visual below may provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the ist DS2 and W800.

To sum up, the two cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The ist DS2 because of its bigger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF easier and the Sony W800 will give greater detail having its extra 14MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older ist DS2 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.