Pentax ist DS2 vs Sony WX300

Here is a detailed assessment of the Pentax ist DS2 and Sony WX300, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Pentax and Sony. There exists a considerable gap among the resolutions of the ist DS2 (6MP) and WX300 (18MP) and the ist DS2 (APS-C) and WX300 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The ist DS2 was announced 8 years prior to the WX300 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Pentax ist DS2 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony WX300 being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a detailed comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the ist DS2 scores against the WX300 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Pentax ist DS2 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX300. The whole galleries are available at Pentax ist DS2 Gallery & Sony WX300 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to carry your camera often, you'll have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Pentax ist DS2 comes with physical dimensions of 125mm x 93mm x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6") having a weight of 605 grams (1.33 lbs) while the Sony WX300 has dimensions of 96mm x 55mm x 25mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 1.0") accompanied by a weight of 166 grams (0.37 lbs).

Check out the Pentax ist DS2 and Sony WX300 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you select at that moment. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the ist DS2 against the WX300.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the ist DS2 and WX300 is 68 and 94 respectively.

Typically, it is difficult to picture the difference in sensor sizing merely by researching a spec sheet. The graphic below may provide you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the ist DS2 and WX300.

As you can see, the 2 cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The ist DS2 having a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony WX300 will provide you with extra detail with its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images more aggressively. The older ist DS2 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.