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Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II

Portability
76
Imaging
57
Features
68
Overall
61
Pentax K-01 front
 
Sony Alpha A9 Mark II front
Portability
62
Imaging
76
Features
93
Overall
82

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II Key Specs

Pentax K-01
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Increase to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 561g - 122 x 79 x 58mm
  • Launched May 2012
Sony A9 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Boost to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 678g - 129 x 96 x 76mm
  • Revealed October 2019
  • Superseded the Sony A9
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Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II Overview

Let's take a closer look at the Pentax K-01 versus Sony A9 II, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by rivals Pentax and Sony. There is a noticeable difference among the image resolutions of the K-01 (16MP) and A9 II (24MP) and the K-01 (APS-C) and A9 II (Full frame) posses totally different sensor dimensions.

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The K-01 was released 8 years prior to the A9 II and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have the same body design (SLR-style mirrorless).

Before diving right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple view of how the K-01 grades against the A9 II in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Pentax K-01 over the Sony A9 II

 K-01 A9 II 

Reasons to pick Sony A9 II over the Pentax K-01

 A9 II K-01 
RevealedOctober 2019May 2012More recent by 89 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1440k921kClearer screen (+519k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Pentax K-01 and Sony A9 II

 K-01 A9 II 
Manual focus More exact focusing
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen sizing
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and size. The Pentax K-01 comes with physical dimensions of 122mm x 79mm x 58mm (4.8" x 3.1" x 2.3") accompanied by a weight of 561 grams (1.24 lbs) while the Sony A9 II has specifications of 129mm x 96mm x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0") with a weight of 678 grams (1.49 lbs).

Take a look at the Pentax K-01 versus Sony A9 II in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilising at that time. Here is a front view measurements comparison of the K-01 versus the A9 II.

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the K-01 and A9 II is 76 and 62 respectively.

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II top view buttons comparison

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it can be hard to see the contrast in sensor measurements purely by seeing a spec sheet. The graphic underneath might give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the K-01 and A9 II.

As you can see, both of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The K-01 due to its smaller sensor will make achieving shallow DOF more difficult and the Sony A9 II will produce more detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older K-01 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II sensor size comparison

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Pentax K-01 Portrait photography highlights
Sony A9 II Portrait photography highlights
74
focusing manually
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
provides face detection autofocus
delivers RAW formats
85
focusing manually
MP count good (24 megapixels)
large sensor size (Full frame)
features face detection focus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Pentax K-01 as a Street photography camera
Sony A9 II as a Street photography camera
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
no articulating screen
more heavy than others in class (561g)
78
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
large sensor size (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
supports touch focus
environment sealing
very good ISO range (51,200)
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Sports Comparison

Pentax K-01 Sports photography advice
Sony A9 II Sports photography advice
61
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
better than average battery life (540 CIPA)
low fps (6.0 frames per second)
lacks phase detect autofocus
88
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
quiet shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
high frames per second (20.0 frames per second)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (24MP)
large sensor size (Full frame)
features tracking autofocus
environment sealing
great battery power (690 CIPA)
supports phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Pentax K-01 Travel photography info
Sony A9 II Travel photography info
65
better than average battery life (540 CIPA)
decent megapixels (16MP)
has built in flash
more heavy than others in class (561 grams)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
73
great battery power (690 per charge)
environment sealing
connects via bluetooth
supports touch focus
MP count good (24MP)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Pentax K-01
Landscape photography with Sony A9 II
80
focusing manually
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
better than average battery life (540 per charge)
86
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (24 megapixels)
large sensor size (Full frame)
very good ISO range (51,200)
exports RAW formats
environment sealing
great battery power (690 per charge)
has double storage slots
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Vlogging Comparison

Pentax K-01 as a Vlogging camera
Sony A9 II as a Vlogging camera
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detection autofocus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external microphone support
does not offer selfie friendly screen
more heavy than others in class (561g)
36
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
features face detection focus
high quality video (3840 x 2160 pixels)
comes with external microphone port
display is not selfie friendly
Photography Glossary

Pentax K-01 vs Sony A9 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax K-01 and Sony A9 II
 Pentax K-01Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
General Information
Make Pentax Sony
Model type Pentax K-01 Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Pro Mirrorless
Launched 2012-05-30 2019-10-03
Body design SLR-style mirrorless SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip - BIONZ X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C Full frame
Sensor measurements 23.7 x 15.7mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor surface area 372.1mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 24 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Full resolution 4928 x 3264 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 12800 51200
Max boosted ISO 25600 204800
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW data
Minimum boosted ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 81 693
Lens
Lens mount type Pentax KAF2 Sony E
Amount of lenses 151 121
Focal length multiplier 1.5 1
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 921 thousand dot 1,440 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech TFT LCD monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 3,686 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.78x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/8000 secs
Highest quiet shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 6.0fps 20.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 12.00 m (at ISO 100) no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow-speed Sync, Trailing Curtain Sync Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30, 25, 24 fps),1280 x 720 (60, 50, 30, 25, 24 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 25, 24 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 561 grams (1.24 lb) 678 grams (1.49 lb)
Physical dimensions 122 x 79 x 58mm (4.8" x 3.1" x 2.3") 129 x 96 x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 79 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 23.7 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.9 not tested
DXO Low light rating 1135 not tested
Other
Battery life 540 photographs 690 photographs
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID D-LI90 NP-FZ100
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2, 5, 10 secs + continuous, 3 or 5 frames)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II compatible)
Storage slots One Two
Pricing at launch $899 $4,498