Nikon Z30 vs Pentax X90

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z30 and the Pentax X90, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon Z30 was introduced in June 2022 and Pentax X90 was introduced in July 2010. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon Z30 over Pentax X90.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax X90 over Nikon Z30.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon Z30 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Pentax X90 has a 2.70" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Nikon Z30 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Nikon Z30 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Electronic Viewfinder on Pentax X90

Pentax X90 has a built-in Electronic viewfinder. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Nikon Z30.

Nikon Z30 features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 369 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 100 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Pentax X90 features a 12.1 megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD sensor with dimensions of 6.08 x 4.56 mm and a total area of 20.8 mm². Its native ISO range is 80 - 6,400.

Nikon Z30 is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution. Pentax X90 is equipped with Prime processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 2672, 4000 x 2256, 3072 x 2304, 2992, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1024 x 768 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon Z30

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon Z30. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

Pentax X90 has an image stabilization.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Nikon Z30

Nikon Z30 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth

Nikon Z30 and Pentax X90 have built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2 on Nikon Z30) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Nikon Z30 has a Micro HDMI and Pentax X90 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z30 comes with EN-EL25 battery pack with battery life of 330 shots and Pentax X90 comes with D-L106 battery pack.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z30 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Pentax X90 has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z30 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon Z30, and up to 1/4000 sec on Pentax X90. Nikon Z30 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z30 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 209 focusing points and Pentax X90 has 9 focusing points. Nikon Z30 has detection range from -4.5 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z30 ranges from -4 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z30 and ±2 range on Pentax X90. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z30 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax X90.

Flash

Pentax X90 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 9.10 m. Nikon Z30 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon Z30.

Nikon Z30 body has dimensions of 128 x 74 x 60 mm (5.04 x 2.91 x 2.36") and Pentax X90 body has dimensions of 111 x 85 x 110 mm (4.37 x 3.35 x 4.33"). Nikon Z30 weighs 405 g (0.89 lb / 14.29 oz) and Pentax X90 weighs 428 g (0.94 lb / 15.10 oz).

Nikon Z30

Pentax X90

128 mm

74 mm

111 mm

85 mm

74 mm

85 mm

60 mm

110 mm