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Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV

Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73
Pentax K-3 II front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV front
Portability
89
Imaging
52
Features
79
Overall
62

Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV Key Specs

Pentax K-3 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Announced April 2015
  • Superseded the Pentax K-3
Sony RX100 IV
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Bump to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 298g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Revealed June 2015
  • Succeeded the Sony RX100 III
  • Later Model is Sony RX100 V
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Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV Overview

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Pentax K-3 II and Sony RX100 IV, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Pentax and Sony. The resolution of the K-3 II (24MP) and the RX100 IV (20MP) is relatively similar but the K-3 II (APS-C) and RX100 IV (1") use totally different sensor measurements.

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The K-3 II was unveiled very close to the RX100 IV and they are of a similar age. Both cameras come with different body type with the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX100 IV being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going through a in depth comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the K-3 II matches up vs the RX100 IV in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Sony RX100 IV

 K-3 II RX100 IV 
Screen dimension3.2"3"Bigger screen (+0.2")

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 IV over the Pentax K-3 II

 RX100 IV K-3 II 
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1229k1037kCrisper screen (+192k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Pentax K-3 II and Sony RX100 IV

 K-3 II RX100 IV 
RevealedApril 2015June 2015Similar age
Manually focus Very precise focus
Touch screen Absent Touch screen

Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV Physical Comparison

In case you're planning to carry around your camera, you'll have to factor its weight and volume. The Pentax K-3 II offers outer measurements of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") along with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) and the Sony RX100 IV has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 298 grams (0.66 lbs).

See the Pentax K-3 II and Sony RX100 IV in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are employing during that time. Underneath is the front view scale comparison of the K-3 II vs the RX100 IV.

Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the K-3 II and RX100 IV is 59 and 89 respectively.

Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV top view buttons comparison

Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV Sensor Comparison

Normally, its hard to envision the contrast between sensor sizes only by going over specifications. The image underneath should give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the K-3 II and RX100 IV.

Plainly, both cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The K-3 II with its bigger sensor will make achieving bokeh less difficult and the Pentax K-3 II will offer you extra detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively.

Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV sensor size comparison

Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Pentax K-3 II
Portrait photography with Sony RX100 IV
79
manual focus
megapixel count decent (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
includes face detection focusing
exports RAW files
65
has manual focus
flash sync is higher than normal (1/2,000 seconds)
good MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
provides face detect focusing
supports RAW files
no external flash support
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Street Comparison

Pentax K-3 II Street photography information
Sony RX100 IV Street photography information
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW files
weather sealing
great high ISO (51,200)
no moving screen
85
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW files
lighter than competitors in class (298g)
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Sports Comparison

Pentax K-3 II as a Sports photography camera
Sony RX100 IV as a Sports photography camera
76
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
includes tracking autofocus
weather sealing
supports phase detect AF
bad battery power (720 CIPA)
68
quiet shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
fast shooting (16.0 fps)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
provides tracking focus
doesn't have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Pentax K-3 II Travel photography advice
Sony RX100 IV Travel photography advice
56
weather sealing
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
bad battery power (720 shots)
screen isn't selfie friendly
86
lighter than competitors in class (298g)
good MP (20MP)
built-in flash
display is selfie friendly
fairly wide (24mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Pentax K-3 II
Landscape photography with Sony RX100 IV
78
manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
decent sized screen (3.2 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
no anti-alias filter
great high ISO (51,200)
exports RAW files
weather sealing
2 card slots
bad battery power (720 CIPA)
74
has manual focus
fairly wide (24mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
good sized screen (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW files
cannot change lens (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Pentax K-3 II Vlogging features
Sony RX100 IV Vlogging features
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detection focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
comes with external microphone support
screen isn't selfie friendly
81
fairly wide (24mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
display is selfie friendly
built in image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detect focusing
video res high (3840 x 2160 pxls)
lighter than competitors in class (298 grams)
lack of microphone port
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Pentax K-3 II vs Sony RX100 IV Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax K-3 II and Sony RX100 IV
 Pentax K-3 IISony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV
General Information
Company Pentax Sony
Model Pentax K-3 II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV
Category Advanced DSLR Large Sensor Compact
Announced 2015-04-23 2015-06-10
Body design Mid-size SLR Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Prime III Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1"
Sensor measurements 23.5 x 15.6mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 366.6mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 24 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 6016 x 4000 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 51200 12800
Highest enhanced ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 100 125
RAW pictures
Minimum enhanced ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 27 25
Cross focus points 25 -
Lens
Lens mounting type Pentax KAF2 fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-70mm (2.9x)
Highest aperture - f/1.8-2.8
Macro focus range - 5cm
Available lenses 151 -
Crop factor 1.5 2.7
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display sizing 3.2 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 1,037 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.64x 0.59x
Features
Min shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/2000 secs
Max quiet shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 8.3 frames per sec 16.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range no built-in flash -
Flash options Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, Wireless sync (available with dedicated external flash) -
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync 1/180 secs 1/2000 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p/120p), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Optional Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS BuiltIn None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 800 gr (1.76 pounds) 298 gr (0.66 pounds)
Dimensions 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 80 70
DXO Color Depth score 23.6 22.9
DXO Dynamic range score 13.6 12.6
DXO Low light score 1106 562
Other
Battery life 720 pictures 280 pictures
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model D-LI90 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds) Yes
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Storage media Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Dual Single
Retail price $829 $898