Pentax K-5 II vs Pentax MX-1
60 Imaging
57 Features
82 Overall
67
84 Imaging
37 Features
60 Overall
46
Pentax K-5 II vs Pentax MX-1 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 16MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 12800 (Bump to 51200)
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Pentax KAF2 Mount
- 760g - 131 x 97 x 73mm
- Introduced June 2013
- Old Model is Pentax K-5
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/1.7" Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 100 - 12800
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 28-112mm (F1.8-2.5) lens
- 391g - 122 x 61 x 51mm
- Announced July 2013
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video Pentax K-5 II vs Pentax MX-1 Overview
On this page, we are reviewing the Pentax K-5 II versus Pentax MX-1, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are created by Pentax. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the K-5 II (16MP) and MX-1 (12MP) and the K-5 II (APS-C) and MX-1 (1/1.7") have different sensor dimensions.
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a LandslideThe K-5 II was revealed very close to the MX-1 so they are of a similar age. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Pentax K-5 II being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax MX-1 being a Compact camera.
Before diving into a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick summation of how the K-5 II scores versus the MX-1 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.
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This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Pentax K-5 II & Pentax MX-1. The full galleries are available at Pentax K-5 II Gallery & Pentax MX-1 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Pentax K-5 II over the Pentax MX-1
| K-5 II | MX-1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display resolution | 921k | 920k | Sharper display (+1k dot) |
Reasons to pick Pentax MX-1 over the Pentax K-5 II
| MX-1 | K-5 II | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display type | Tilting | Fixed | Tilting display |
Common features in the Pentax K-5 II and Pentax MX-1
| K-5 II | MX-1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced | June 2013 | July 2013 | Similar age | |
| Manually focus | Dial accurate focus | |||
| Display dimensions | 3" | 3" | Equal display sizing | |
| Selfie screen | Neither provides selfie screen | |||
| Touch display | Neither provides Touch display |
Pentax K-5 II vs Pentax MX-1 Physical Comparison
In case you're intending to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and size. The Pentax K-5 II provides outside dimensions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") and a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs) whilst the Pentax MX-1 has specifications of 122mm x 61mm x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") along with a weight of 391 grams (0.86 lbs).
Look at the Pentax K-5 II versus Pentax MX-1 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at the time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the K-5 II compared to the MX-1.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the K-5 II and MX-1 is 60 and 84 respectively.
Pentax K-5 II vs Pentax MX-1 Sensor Comparison
More often than not, its difficult to picture the difference between sensor dimensions purely by reviewing specifications. The pic here will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the K-5 II and MX-1.
Plainly, each of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The K-5 II with its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Pentax K-5 II will deliver greater detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images more aggressively.
Pentax K-5 II vs Pentax MX-1 Screen and ViewFinder
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Pentax K-5 II vs Pentax MX-1 Specifications
| Pentax K-5 II | Pentax MX-1 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Brand Name | Pentax | Pentax |
| Model | Pentax K-5 II | Pentax MX-1 |
| Class | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Compact |
| Introduced | 2013-06-04 | 2013-07-01 |
| Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Powered by | Prime II | - |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | APS-C | 1/1.7" |
| Sensor dimensions | 23.7 x 15.7mm | 7.44 x 5.58mm |
| Sensor area | 372.1mm² | 41.5mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 16MP | 12MP |
| Anti aliasing filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 | 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
| Highest resolution | 4928 x 3264 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Highest native ISO | 12800 | 12800 |
| Highest boosted ISO | 51200 | - |
| Minimum native ISO | 100 | 100 |
| RAW support | ||
| Minimum boosted ISO | 80 | - |
| Autofocusing | ||
| Manual focus | ||
| Touch to focus | ||
| AF continuous | ||
| AF single | ||
| Tracking AF | ||
| Selective AF | ||
| AF center weighted | ||
| Multi area AF | ||
| AF live view | ||
| Face detection focusing | ||
| Contract detection focusing | ||
| Phase detection focusing | ||
| Number of focus points | 11 | 25 |
| Cross focus points | 9 | - |
| Lens | ||
| Lens mounting type | Pentax KAF2 | fixed lens |
| Lens focal range | - | 28-112mm (4.0x) |
| Maximal aperture | - | f/1.8-2.5 |
| Macro focus range | - | 1cm |
| Number of lenses | 151 | - |
| Crop factor | 1.5 | 4.8 |
| Screen | ||
| Screen type | Fixed Type | Tilting |
| Screen size | 3 inches | 3 inches |
| Resolution of screen | 921 thousand dots | 920 thousand dots |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch friendly | ||
| Screen technology | TFT LCD monitor | TFT LCD with AR coating |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder type | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
| Viewfinder coverage | 100% | - |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.61x | - |
| Features | ||
| Lowest shutter speed | 30 seconds | 30 seconds |
| Highest shutter speed | 1/8000 seconds | 1/8000 seconds |
| Continuous shooting rate | 7.0 frames/s | 1.0 frames/s |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Expose Manually | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
| Set WB | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Integrated flash | ||
| Flash range | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) | 12.00 m |
| Flash options | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, High speed, Rear curtain and Wireless | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Speed sync, Trailing Curtain sync |
| External flash | ||
| AE bracketing | ||
| WB bracketing | ||
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment metering | ||
| Average metering | ||
| Spot metering | ||
| Partial metering | ||
| AF area metering | ||
| Center weighted metering | ||
| Video features | ||
| Supported video resolutions | 1920 x 1080 (25 fps), 1280 x 720 (25, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (25, 30 fps) | 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
| Highest video resolution | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 |
| Video file format | Motion JPEG | MPEG-4, H.264 |
| Mic port | ||
| Headphone port | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | None | Eye-Fi Connected |
| Bluetooth | ||
| NFC | ||
| HDMI | ||
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| GPS | Optional | None |
| Physical | ||
| Environment sealing | ||
| Water proof | ||
| Dust proof | ||
| Shock proof | ||
| Crush proof | ||
| Freeze proof | ||
| Weight | 760 gr (1.68 pounds) | 391 gr (0.86 pounds) |
| Physical dimensions | 131 x 97 x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") | 122 x 61 x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO All around score | 82 | 49 |
| DXO Color Depth score | 23.8 | 20.4 |
| DXO Dynamic range score | 14.1 | 11.3 |
| DXO Low light score | 1235 | 208 |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | 980 pictures | 290 pictures |
| Form of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
| Battery model | D-LI90 | D-Li-106 |
| Self timer | Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds) | Yes (2 or 12 sec) |
| Time lapse recording | ||
| Storage type | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC |
| Card slots | One | One |
| Launch price | $830 | $400 |