Pentax K10D has a
10.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Nikon D7000 has a
16.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 2 processor.
Nikon D7000's sensor provides 6MP more than Pentax K10D's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the K10D and D7000 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Pentax K10D and Nikon D7000 Cameras
Pentax K10D and Nikon D7000 have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Pentax K10D and Nikon D7000 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that D7000 has a better overall score of 80, 14 points higher compared to K10D's score of 66.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Pentax K10D
66
22.7 bits
11.6 Evs
522 ISO
Nikon D7000
80
23.5 bits
13.9 Evs
1167 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Pentax K10D
or the
Nikon D7000 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
