Pentax K-3 vs Sony A500

Lets look a little more in depth at the Pentax K-3 versus Sony A500, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Pentax and Sony. There exists a big gap among the image resolutions of the K-3 (24MP) and A500 (12MP) but they feature the same exact sensor dimensions (APS-C).

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The K-3 was revealed 4 years later than the A500 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting through a more detailed comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the K-3 scores vs the A500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Pentax K-3 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The full galleries are available at Pentax K-3 Gallery and Sony A500 Gallery.

When you are aiming to carry your camera regularly, you will have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Pentax K-3 offers outside dimensions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") having a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs) while the Sony A500 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Look at the Pentax K-3 versus Sony A500 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you use at the time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the K-3 and the A500.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the K-3 and A500 is 59 and 63 respectively.

Typically, it is very tough to picture the contrast in sensor sizing just by viewing specs. The visual below might give you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the K-3 and A500.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing but different megapixels. You should expect to see the Pentax K-3 to provide you with greater detail because of its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics far more aggressively. The more recent K-3 should have a benefit in sensor tech.