Canon 400D vs Pentax E70 Comparison

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Canon 400D

10 MP | APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Pentax E70

10 MP | 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) CCD Sensor

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Canon 400D vs Pentax E70 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Canon 400D, which was introduced in October 2006 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 10.0MP APS-C sensor whereas Pentax E70, which was introduced in January 2009 is a Small Sensor Compact camera with a 10.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor. As you can see, 400D is 3 years older than E70. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing a DSLR camera to a Fixed Lens camera is not an easy task but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Canon 400D and Pentax E70 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Canon 400D Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2006-10-14

10MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 1600

Canon EF/EF-S Mount

2.5" Fixed Type Screen

Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder

3 fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

556g. 127 x 94 x 65 mm

Also known as EOS Digital Rebel XTi / EOS Kiss Digital X

Replaced Canon EOS 350D Compare

Pentax E70 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2009-01-05

10MP - 1/2.3-inch CCD Sensor

ISO 64 - 6400

35-105 mm F3.1-5.9 Zoom Lens

2.4" Fixed Type Screen

continuous shooting

HD - 1280 x 720 video resolution

175g. 94 x 61 x 26 mm

Canon 400D was replaced by Canon EOS 450D. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Canon EOS 450D vs Canon EOS 400D (EOS Digital Rebel XTi / EOS Kiss Digital X)
Canon EOS 450D vs Pentax Optio E70

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Canon 400D and Pentax E70 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Canon EOS 400D over Pentax Optio E70

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs No	Better for flash photography
Viewfinder	Optical vs None	Better framing and control
RAW Support	Yes vs No	Better image quality
LCD Screen Size	2.5" vs 2.4"	0.1 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution	230k dots vs 112k dots	105% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter	1/4000s vs 1/2000s	faster mechanical shutter
Manual Exposure	Yes vs No	better exposure control
Flash Coverage	12.0m vs 3.5m	8.5m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area	32.60µm² vs 2.78µm²	1072% larger pixel area

Reasons to choose Pentax Optio E70 over Canon EOS 400D

Max ISO	6.400 vs 1.600	300% higher Max ISO
Weight	175 g vs 556 g	381 g lighter
Max Video Resolution	1280 x 720 vs None	Higher Resolution Video

Common Strengths of Canon EOS 400D and Pentax Optio E70

Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light

Common Weaknesses of Canon EOS 400D and Pentax Optio E70

In-body Image Stabilization	No vs No	No Built-in stabilization
Fixed Screen	Fixed Type vs No	No flexible viewing angles
Max Resolution	10 MP vs 10 MP	Less details and smaller prints
LCD Screen Size	2.5" vs 2.4"	Small display
LCD Screen Resolution	230k dots vs 112k dots	Low resolution screens
Environmental Sealing	No vs No	not suitable for tough conditions
AE Bracketing	No vs No	Not good for multi-exposure HDR

Canon 400D vs Pentax E70: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Canon 400D and Pentax E70 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Canon 400D has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 65 mm (5 x 3.7 x 2.56″) and weighs 556 g (1.23 lb / 19.61 oz) (including batteries). Pentax E70 has external dimensions of 94 x 61 x 26 mm (3.7 x 2.4 x 1.02″) and weighs 175 g (0.39 lb / 6.17 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Canon 400D and Pentax E70. Pentax E70 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 33mm narrower, 33mm shorter and 39mm thinner than Canon 400D. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Pentax E70 has a built-in lens but Canon 400D doesn't. Once you put a lens on 400D, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Canon 400D and Pentax E70 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Pentax E70 is significantly lighter (381g ) than the Canon 400D which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on 400D, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Canon EOS 400D (EOS Digital Rebel XTi / EOS Kiss Digital X) nor Pentax Optio E70 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top DSLR Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Canon 400D's 2.5" LCD screen is slightly larger than Pentax E70's 2.4" screen.

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.

Canon 400D vs Pentax E70: Sensor Comparison

Both Canon 400D and Pentax E70 have 10.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon 400D's sensor is APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm ) and Pentax E70's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.08 x 4.56 mm ).

Since Canon 400D's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Pentax E70.

Below you can see the 400D and E70 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 400D and Pentax E70 Cameras

As seen above, Canon 400D has a 11.9x Larger sensor area than Pentax E70. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Canon 400D and Pentax E70 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Canon 400D and Pentax E70 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Canon 400D for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax E70 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Large APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Canon 400D for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax E70 for Street Photography

POOR

Large APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details

Small Body
Live-view
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
35 mm - Poor Wide Angle Coverage
Read the details

Canon 400D for Sports Photography

GOOD

Pentax E70 for Sports Photography

POOR

Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
No Image Stabilization
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Read the details

Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
105 mm Tele Lens
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.90
Read the details

Canon 400D for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax E70 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Large APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) sensor
Large Body
556g
Body Thickness 65mm
Read the details

Compact Body
175g
Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
3.0X Optical Zoom
Read the details

Canon 400D for Landscape Photography

POOR

Pentax E70 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Large APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
No Live-view
Read the details

Small 1/2.33" (6.08 x 4.56 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
35 mm - Poor Wide Angle Coverage
Read the details

Canon 400D vs Pentax E70: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Canon 400D and Pentax E70, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Canon 400D and Pentax E70 scores compare:

Canon 400D

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #71 out of 79 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #609 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Pentax E70

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #452 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #1172 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Canon 400D is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Pentax E70 in all criteria except one: Portability. Pentax E70 is significantly smaller than Canon 400D. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Pentax E70. Otherwise, Canon 400D is the better camera overall.

Pentax E70 vs Canon 400D Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Canon EOS 400D	Pentax Optio E70
Brand	Canon	Pentax
Announced	2006-10-14	2009-01-05
Body Type	Compact SLR	Compact
Sensor
Type	CMOS	CCD
Size	APS-C	1/2.3-inch
Dimensions	22.2 x 14.8 mm	6.08 x 4.56 mm
Area	328.56mm²	27.72mm²
Megapixels	10 megapixels	10 megapixels
Max Resolution	3888 x 2592	3648 x 2736
Max Native Light sensitivity	1,600 ISO	6,400 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity	100 ISO	64 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points	9	9
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Canon EF/EF-S	fixed lens
Lens Focal Range	no lens	35-105 mm (3×)
Max Aperture	no lens	F3.1-5.9
Macro Focus Range	no lens	10cm
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Fixed type
Size	2.5"	2.4"
Resolution	230k dots	112k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical (pentamirror)	None
Viewfinder Coverage	95%	n/a
Viewfinder Magnification	0.5x	n/a
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/2000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	No	No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	12.00 m (ISO 100)	3.50 m
Max Flash Sync	1/200s	n/a
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	3.0 fps	n/a
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	None	1280 x 720
Video Formats	n/a	Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	556g	175g
Dimensions	127 x 94 x 65mm	94 x 61 x 26mm
Battery Life	n/a	n/a
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	62	not tested
DxO Color Depth	22.1	not tested
DxO Dynamic Range	11.0	not tested
DxO Low Light ISO	664	not tested
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