Pentax K-5 II vs Sony A230

Following is a in-depth assessment of the Pentax K-5 II and Sony A230, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Pentax and Sony. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the K-5 II (16MP) and A230 (10MP) but they feature the exact same sensor dimensions (APS-C).

Photography Glossary

The K-5 II was unveiled 4 years after the A230 which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Pentax K-5 II being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go through a full comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the K-5 II scores vs the A230 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Pentax K-5 II and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. The full galleries are available at Pentax K-5 II Gallery and Sony A230 Gallery.

If you're planning to carry around your camera, you need to think about its weight and measurements. The Pentax K-5 II has got external measurements of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") having a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs) while the Sony A230 has proportions of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") accompanied by a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs).

Look at the Pentax K-5 II and Sony A230 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are employing at that moment. Underneath is the front view dimension comparison of the K-5 II against the A230.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the K-5 II and A230 is 60 and 69 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to see the gap between sensor sizes merely by going over specs. The image here should give you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the K-5 II and A230.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements albeit not the same megapixels. You should expect the Pentax K-5 II to offer more detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The more recent K-5 II is going to have an advantage in sensor innovation.