Pentax K200D vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K200D and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850, 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.

Pentax K200D was introduced in September 2008 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 was introduced in January 2017. 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 Pentax K200D over Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 over Pentax K200D.

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

Pentax K200D has a 2.7" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 1,040k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850) 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.

Optical (pentamirror) Viewfinder on Pentax K200D

Pentax K200D has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. It has a 96% coverage and 0.85x (0.57x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850.

Pentax K200D features a 10.2 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 369 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 features a 16 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Pentax K200D can take pictures up to 3872 x 2592 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3008 x 2000, 1824 x 1216. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 is equipped with Venus Engine processor and can take pictures up to 4592 x 3448 resolution.

Lens Mount

Pentax K200D has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Pentax K200D its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 its crop factor is equal to 2x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

No Low-Pass Filter on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850. 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Pentax K200D

Pentax K200D has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K200D comes with 4 x AA battery pack and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 comes with DMW-BLH7 battery pack with battery life of 210 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax K200D has a single SD/SDHC card slot. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Pentax K200D has Electronically controlled Vertical Run Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Pentax K200D, and up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/500 sec with mechanical shutter on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850. Pentax K200D can shoot continuously up to 2.8 fps. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Pentax K200D has 11 focusing points and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 has 49 focusing points. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 has detection range from -4 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 ranges from 0 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±2 EV range on Pentax K200D and ±5 EV range on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850. You can also do exposure lock and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K200D and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Pentax K200D and 4.00 m at ISO 100 on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850. Pentax K200D also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Pentax K200D and 1/50 sec on Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850.

Pentax K200D body has dimensions of 134 x 95 x 74 mm (5.28 x 3.74 x 2.91") and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 body has dimensions of 107 x 65 x 33 mm (4.21 x 2.56 x 1.3"). Pentax K200D weighs 690 g (1.52 lb / 24.34 oz) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 weighs 269 g (0.59 lb / 9.49 oz).

Pentax K200D

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850

134 mm

95 mm

107 mm

65 mm

95 mm

65 mm

74 mm

33 mm