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Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500

Portability
61
Imaging
77
Features
89
Overall
81
Nikon Z6 Mark II front
 
Pentax K-500 front
Portability
64
Imaging
58
Features
70
Overall
62

Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 Key Specs

Nikon Z6 II
(Full Review)
  • 25MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3.2" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Expand to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Nikon Z Mount
  • 705g - 134 x 101 x 70mm
  • Introduced October 2020
  • Superseded the Nikon Z6
Pentax K-500
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 646g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Introduced November 2013
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Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 Overview

Below is a in-depth review of the Nikon Z6 II and Pentax K-500, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Nikon and Pentax. There is a noticeable difference among the resolutions of the Z6 II (25MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the Z6 II (Full frame) and K-500 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor size.

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The Z6 II was manufactured 6 years later than the K-500 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Nikon Z6 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving into a complete comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the Z6 II matches up against the K-500 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Nikon Z6 II over the Pentax K-500

 Z6 II K-500 
IntroducedOctober 2020November 2013More recent by 84 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen size3.2"3"Bigger screen (+0.2")
Screen resolution2100k921kClearer screen (+1179k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-500 over the Nikon Z6 II

 K-500 Z6 II 

Common features in the Nikon Z6 II and Pentax K-500

 Z6 II K-500 
Manual focus Very exact focusing
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen

Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 Physical Comparison

If you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you will want to factor its weight and volume. The Nikon Z6 II enjoys outer dimensions of 134mm x 101mm x 70mm (5.3" x 4.0" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 705 grams (1.55 lbs) and the Pentax K-500 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Check out the Nikon Z6 II and Pentax K-500 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are utilising at that time. Here is a front view physical size comparison of the Z6 II compared to the K-500.

Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the Z6 II and K-500 is 61 and 64 respectively.

Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 top view buttons comparison

Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, its hard to visualise the gap in sensor measurements merely by viewing a spec sheet. The visual here will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the Z6 II and K-500.

As you can see, both of those cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The Z6 II featuring a bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Nikon Z6 II will result in greater detail due to its extra 9MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs way more aggressively. The more modern Z6 II is going to have an advantage in sensor technology.

Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 sensor size comparison

Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 Screen and ViewFinder

Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Nikon Z6 II Portrait photography information
Pentax K-500 Portrait photography information
86
focusing manually
great MP (25MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
offers face detection autofocus
delivers RAW formats
74
manual focus
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports face detection autofocus
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Nikon Z6 II
Street photography with Pentax K-500
78
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
delivers RAW formats
includes focus by touch
environment sealing
good high ISO (51,200)
68
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
great ISO range (51,600)
fixed screen
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Nikon Z6 II
Sports photography with Pentax K-500
82
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
great MP (25MP)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
offers tracking autofocus
environment sealing
has phase detect autofocus
terrible battery life (410 shots)
72
maximum shutter speed is high (1/6,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports tracking autofocus
better than average battery (710 CIPA)
has phase detect autofocus
low fps (6.0 fps)
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Nikon Z6 II Travel photography details
Pentax K-500 Travel photography details
66
environment sealing
connects via bluetooth
includes focus by touch
great MP (25MP)
terrible battery life (410 shots)
does not have selfie friendly display
67
better than average battery (710 CIPA)
sensor resolution is decent (16MP)
has built in flash
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Nikon Z6 II
Landscape photography with Pentax K-500
82
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Nikon Z mount)
screen size is good (3.2")
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
great MP (25 megapixels)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
good high ISO (51,200)
delivers RAW formats
environment sealing
has dual storage slots
terrible battery life (410 shots)
79
manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen is a decent size (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
great ISO range (51,600)
saves RAW formats
better than average battery (710 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Nikon Z6 II
Vlogging with Pentax K-500
36
touchscreen enabled
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
offers face detection autofocus
good video quality (3840 x 2160 pxls)
has external mic jack
does not have selfie friendly display
30
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detection autofocus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't have a selfie friendly screen
missing external mic support
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Nikon Z6 II vs Pentax K-500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Nikon Z6 II and Pentax K-500
 Nikon Z6 Mark IIPentax K-500
General Information
Brand Name Nikon Pentax
Model type Nikon Z6 Mark II Pentax K-500
Class Pro Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Introduced 2020-10-14 2013-11-27
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip - PRIME M
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Full frame APS-C
Sensor dimensions 35.9 x 23.9mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 858.0mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 25 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 5:4, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Highest resolution 6048 x 4024 4928 x 3264
Highest native ISO 51200 51600
Highest boosted ISO 204800 -
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Minimum boosted ISO 50 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 273 11
Cross type focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount type Nikon Z Pentax KAF2
Amount of lenses 15 151
Crop factor 1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3.2 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 2,100k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology - TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder resolution 3,690k dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.8x 0.61x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000s 1/6000s
Continuous shooting rate 14.0fps 6.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash settings Front-curtain sync, slow sync, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction with slow sync, slow rear-curtain sync, off Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/200s 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 25p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 24p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 120p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 100p / 144 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 56 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 50p / 56 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 30p / 28 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 25p / 28 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 28 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps)
Highest video resolution 3840x2160 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB Yes USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 705 grams (1.55 lbs) 646 grams (1.42 lbs)
Physical dimensions 134 x 101 x 70mm (5.3" x 4.0" x 2.8") 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 79
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.7
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.1
DXO Low light rating not tested 1087
Other
Battery life 410 pictures 710 pictures
Style of battery Battery Pack AA
Battery ID - 4 x AA
Self timer Yes (2, 5, 10 or 20 secs) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage CFexpress Type B / XQD SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Two 1
Launch price $1,997 $600