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Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III

Portability
60
Imaging
58
Features
82
Overall
67
Pentax K-5 II front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III front
Portability
89
Imaging
51
Features
77
Overall
61

Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III Key Specs

Pentax K-5 II
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Push to 51200)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 760g - 131 x 97 x 73mm
  • Released June 2013
  • Superseded the Pentax K-5
Sony RX100 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 290g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Announced May 2014
  • Older Model is Sony RX100 II
  • Successor is Sony RX100 IV
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Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III Overview

Here is a detailed analysis of the Pentax K-5 II and Sony RX100 III, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by brands Pentax and Sony. The sensor resolution of the K-5 II (16MP) and the RX100 III (20MP) is relatively well matched but the K-5 II (APS-C) and RX100 III (1") possess different sensor size.

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The K-5 II was manufactured 11 months before the RX100 III so they are both of a similar age. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Pentax K-5 II being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving in to a more detailed comparison, below is a simple view of how the K-5 II grades against the RX100 III for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Pentax K-5 II over the Sony RX100 III

 K-5 II RX100 III 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 III over the Pentax K-5 II

 RX100 III K-5 II 
AnnouncedMay 2014June 2013Fresher by 11 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1229k921kSharper screen (+308k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Pentax K-5 II and Sony RX100 III

 K-5 II RX100 III 
Focus manually Dial accurate focusing
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen size
Touch screen Neither provides Touch screen

Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III Physical Comparison

When you are going to carry your camera often, you'll have to take into account its weight and volume. The Pentax K-5 II provides physical dimensions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") accompanied by a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs) and the Sony RX100 III has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") having a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

See the Pentax K-5 II and Sony RX100 III in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use at the time. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the K-5 II vs the RX100 III.

Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the K-5 II and RX100 III is 60 and 89 respectively.

Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III top view buttons comparison

Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III Sensor Comparison

Typically, its difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor sizing purely by looking at technical specs. The graphic underneath will help offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the K-5 II and RX100 III.

As you can tell, both of the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The K-5 II because of its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony RX100 III will give you greater detail due to its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older K-5 II is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III sensor size comparison

Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Pentax K-5 II Portrait photography highlights
Sony RX100 III Portrait photography highlights
74
has manual focus
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
includes face detection autofocus
supports RAW files
64
you can focus manually
great flash sync speed (1/2,000s)
decent megapixels (20MP)
good sensor size (1")
offers face detect focusing
exports RAW files
no external flash support
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Street Comparison

Pentax K-5 II Street photography highlights
Sony RX100 III Street photography highlights
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
fixed screen
85
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Optical)
good sensor size (1")
exports RAW files
lighter than average (290 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Pentax K-5 II Sports photography features
Sony RX100 III Sports photography features
79
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (16MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
includes tracking autofocus
weather sealing
sensor has phase detect autofocus
65
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
offers tracking focus
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Pentax K-5 II Travel photography details
Sony RX100 III Travel photography details
65
weather sealing
good MP (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
does not have a selfie friendly display
85
lighter than average (290g)
decent megapixels (20MP)
flash built-in
selfie friendly display
pretty wide (24mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Pentax K-5 II
Landscape photography with Sony RX100 III
79
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
good sized screen (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (16MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
73
you can focus manually
pretty wide (24mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
exports RAW files
cannot change lenses (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Pentax K-5 II Vlogging information
Sony RX100 III Vlogging information
33
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
includes external mic support
does not have a selfie friendly display
80
pretty wide (24mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
selfie friendly display
image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detect focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than average (290 grams)
does not have mic port
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Pentax K-5 II vs Sony RX100 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax K-5 II and Sony RX100 III
 Pentax K-5 IISony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
General Information
Manufacturer Pentax Sony
Model Pentax K-5 II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
Class Advanced DSLR Large Sensor Compact
Released 2013-06-04 2014-05-15
Body design Mid-size SLR Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Prime II Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1"
Sensor dimensions 23.7 x 15.7mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 372.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4928 x 3264 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 12800 12800
Highest boosted ISO 51200 -
Min native ISO 100 125
RAW support
Min boosted ISO 80 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 11 25
Cross focus points 9 -
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
Total lenses 151 -
Crop factor 1.5 2.7
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen diagonal 3" 3"
Screen resolution 921 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen technology TFT LCD monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.61x 0.59x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 7.0 frames per second 10.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 13.00 m (at ISO 100) -
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, High speed, Rear curtain and Wireless -
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/2000 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
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 (60p/60i/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p/120p), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS Optional None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 760 grams (1.68 lb) 290 grams (0.64 lb)
Dimensions 131 x 97 x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 82 67
DXO Color Depth score 23.8 22.4
DXO Dynamic range score 14.1 12.3
DXO Low light score 1235 495
Other
Battery life 980 photos 320 photos
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model D-LI90 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds) Yes (2 or 10 sec, self-portrait, continuous)
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at launch $830 $748