Pentax Q10

Pentax Q10 is Pentax's Entry-Level Mirrorless digital camera first introduced on September of 2012. It comes with a 12 MegaPixel, CMOS 1/2.3" sized sensor and has a peak resolution of 4000 x 3000.

Pentax brought out this model as a way to upgrade the previous Pentax Q (Read Full Comparison) & then released the more recent Pentax Q7 (Read Full Comparison) as a way to upgrade this camera.

The Q10 places at #115 out of 117 in Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras & all-around #554 out of 1465 for cameras in our database. You can try our Advanced camera filter to get camera results based on your personalized factors.

Below is a diagram of various criteria used in the scoring system.

The Pentax Q10 has a history of related cameras. Underneath, you can see all previous and brand new models along with important specs.

You can check the Q10 from various angles in the gallery below.

Below is a list of pluses and minuses of the Pentax Q10 based on features that are normally seen as essential in a digital camera.

The sensor size on the Pentax Q10 is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor has the ability to resolve 4000 x 3000 pixels and aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera comes with Image Stabilization (Sensor based). In body stabilization is preferable than digital stabilization since the latter can lead to cropping.

Photography Glossary

The CMOS sensor has 12MP and gives a standard ISO range of 100 to 6400. RAW files are supported which means that the user has wider room to maneuver in post.

The graphic below illustrates the Q10's sensor dimensions in comparison to other popular sizes. The Q10 sensor has a crop factor of 5.8 and is presented in green.

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To get an idea of various aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Pentax Q10 has a weight of 0.44 pounds (200 grams / 7.05 ounces) & the measurement of the camera is 102mm x 58mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.3"). The weight of general Entry-Level Mirrorless camera is 329 grams and the Pentax Q10 is lighter when compared to its competitors.

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Below is a pic of the Pentax Q10 next to a soft drink to help you get a sense of its scale.

The top view below will show you the button layout on the Q10.

The Q10 works with the Pentax Q mount and has 8 lenses available to buy. Below is some of the lenses we have in our collection which will work with the Q10.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight

Pentax 05 Toy Lens Telephoto18mmf/8.0 18g

Pentax 07 Mount Shield Lens12mmf/9.0 8g

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Pentax 08 Wide Zoom4-6mmf/3.7-4.0 75g

Pentax 03 Fish-Eye3mmf/5.6 29g

Pentax 01 Standard Prime9mmf/1.9 37g

Pentax 04 Toy Lens Wide6mmf/7.1 21g

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Pentax 02 Standard Zoom5-15mmf/2.8-4.5 96g

The Q10 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Cameras that include NFC and / or Bluetooth connectivity are able to be used wirelessly by smartphones. You can easily transfer images and oftentimes adjust camera settings with no need to connect directly to the camera.

Some applications even provide a Liveview and press the shutter when you aren't near the camera. If the camera features a HDMI port, it can easily be hooked up to an external monitor. The majority of cameras will allow you to recharge the battery using the USB port.

The highest video resolution on the Pentax Q10 is 1920 x 1080 and you can shoot in MPEG-4 and H.264 file format. 1080p resolution is an excellent balance in video quality and file sizes but FULL HD isn't going to give you any room to downsample. The camera doesn't include a microphone and / or headphone socket which means you have little control over the sound. It is perhaps a better idea to have a look at a different camera should you want good sound for your videos.

There is no weather sealing for the Pentax Q10 so you need to be cautious in rainy and dusty situations.

The Pentax Q10 comes with a 3 inch fixed screen supporting a resolution of 460 thousand dots.

Please be aware that the screen has no touch support.

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The View Finder specs for Pentax Q10 are as follows:

• ViewFinder Optical (optional)

Viewfinders can be quite beneficial in bright outdoor situations which can make the camera screen washed out and difficult to see.

Pentax Q10 continuous shooting speed is 5.0 frames per second. The max shutter speed is 1/8000 sec.

Pentax Q10 comes with both integrated flash as well as external flash ability. The max flash sync speed is 1/2000 sec.

Pentax Q10 comes with just Contrast Based Autofocus & doesn't have Phase Detect Autofocus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot more quicker & exact when compared to Contrast Based focusing. The camera comes with Face detection which is handy for portrait photography.

It comes with 25 focus points to pick from. It also has Tracking Autofocus for things on the move. Pentax Q10 has got manual focusing in case it is needed in low light situations or you require more precise focusing control.

The battery power (D-LI68) for the Pentax Q10 is made to last for 270 shutters as per the CIPA standards making it less when compared to it's competitors. The typical Entry-Level Mirrorless camera battery life is 343. Fujifilm X-S20 has the highest (750) battery life in this type of cameras.

Here is a listing of Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras that have the highest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm X-S20
Q10 vs X-S20750 yesnoyes

Samsung NX mini
Q10 vs NX mini650 yesnono

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Pentax K-01
Q10 vs K-01540 yesnono

Sony NEX-3N
Q10 vs NEX-3N480 yesnono

Sony NEX-F3
Q10 vs NEX-F3470 yesnono

The following diagram indicates a summation of the Pentax Q10 for various types of photography. To learn more, go to the specific paragraph below.

The Pentax Q10 gets a score of 48 which is average, meaning that it is fairly adequate to use for portraits. Taking portrait photos leans heavily to sensor specs, RAW support along with the capability to work with off-camera flash.

With a above average points tally of 68, the Pentax Q10 is a good choice to buy for street photography. A decent street photography camera has a perfect balance of picture quality plus portability.

A lousy sports photography score of 36 suggests the Pentax Q10 is just not very good for taking photos of sports. A camera needs good focusing plus fast continuous shooting for sports photography.

Size is super crucial when choosing a camera for travel. On the whole, the Pentax Q10 gets a modest 60 as a travelling camera which is somewhat appropriate to take with you on your vacations.

For anyone who is looking to pick a camera for landscape photographs, the most significant aspect will be image quality. The Pentax Q10 at it's decent grade of 54 for a landscape camera is reasonably acceptable within the current market.

A camera for vlogging should really come with a articulating display screen, microphone port and ideally IBIS. Considering all the details, the Pentax Q10 is just not very good as a vlog camera as it comes to a lousy score of 35.

If you are interested in replacements to the Q10, here is a selection of the top ranked cameras that fall under the class of Entry-Level Mirrorless.

The line graph just below shows you a bird's eye view of the Q10 versus it's top ranked rivals mentioned previously.

Here are a handful of other cameras you may regard as alternatives. To check out a detailed comparison, click the "compare" link.