Clicky

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90

Portability
64
Imaging
58
Features
70
Overall
62
Pentax K-500 front
 
Pentax Optio H90 front
Portability
93
Imaging
35
Features
24
Overall
30

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 Key Specs

Pentax K-500
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 646g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Launched November 2013
Pentax H90
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.5-5.9) lens
  • 153g - 101 x 65 x 28mm
  • Introduced January 2010
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 Overview

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Pentax K-500 and Pentax H90, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both are produced by Pentax. There exists a substantial gap among the sensor resolutions of the K-500 (16MP) and H90 (12MP) and the K-500 (APS-C) and H90 (1/2.3") feature different sensor sizing.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

The K-500 was launched 3 years after the H90 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Pentax H90 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a thorough comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the K-500 scores vs the H90 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Pentax K-500 over the Pentax H90

 K-500 H90 
IntroducedNovember 2013January 2010Newer by 47 months
Display dimension3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution921k230kClearer display (+691k dot)

Reasons to pick Pentax H90 over the Pentax K-500

 H90 K-500 

Common features in the Pentax K-500 and Pentax H90

 K-500 H90 
Manual focus Very precise focusing
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch display Neither provides Touch display

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to travel with your camera frequently, you'll have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Pentax K-500 provides external dimensions of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs) and the Pentax H90 has dimensions of 101mm x 65mm x 28mm (4.0" x 2.6" x 1.1") along with a weight of 153 grams (0.34 lbs).

Check out the Pentax K-500 and Pentax H90 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the K-500 against the H90.

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the K-500 and H90 is 64 and 93 respectively.

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 top view buttons comparison

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its tough to imagine the difference in sensor dimensions simply by going through technical specs. The image here may offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the K-500 and H90.

As you can tell, both of the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The K-500 because of its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Pentax K-500 will provide greater detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images much more aggressively. The more recent K-500 provides a benefit in sensor innovation.

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 sensor size comparison

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Pentax K-500 Portrait photography factors
Pentax H90 Portrait photography factors
74
manual focus
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
features face detection autofocus
delivers RAW formats
27
manual focus
manual exposure not possible
no external flash support
low megapixels (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Street Comparison

Pentax K-500 Street photography features
Pentax H90 Street photography features
68
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
good ISO range (51,600)
screen is fixed
56
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
no articulating screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Sports Comparison

Pentax K-500 Sports photography highlights
Pentax H90 Sports photography highlights
72
great max shutter speed (1/6,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
features tracking autofocus
good battery life (710 per charge)
supports phase detect autofocus
max frames per second very slow (6.0 frames/s)
31
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports tracking focus
slow frames per second (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect auto focus
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Travel Comparison

Pentax K-500 Travel photography features
Pentax H90 Travel photography features
67
good battery life (710 per charge)
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
does not have selfie friendly display
57
has built in flash
fairly wide (28mm)
doesn't have Timelapse function
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
slow max aperture (f3.5)
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Pentax K-500
Landscape photography with Pentax H90
79
manual focus
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
good ISO range (51,600)
delivers RAW formats
good battery life (710 CIPA)
36
manual focus
fairly wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.5)
small screen (2.7 inches)
manual exposure not possible
low megapixels (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
doesn't have Timelapse function
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Vlogging Comparison

Pentax K-500 Vlogging features
Pentax H90 Vlogging features
30
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detection autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does not have selfie friendly display
no external microphone jack
28
fairly wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
slow max aperture (f3.5)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
low res video (1280 x 720 pxls)
doesn't have microphone port
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Pentax K-500 vs Pentax H90 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax K-500 and Pentax H90
 Pentax K-500Pentax Optio H90
General Information
Brand Pentax Pentax
Model type Pentax K-500 Pentax Optio H90
Type Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2013-11-27 2010-01-25
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor PRIME M Prime
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 23.7 x 15.7mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 372.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 4:3 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4928 x 3264 4000 x 3000
Highest native ISO 51600 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 11 9
Cross type focus points 9 -
Lens
Lens mount type Pentax KAF2 fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.5-5.9
Macro focusing distance - 10cm
Available lenses 151 -
Crop factor 1.5 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 2.7"
Resolution of display 921 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.61x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 secs 4 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/6000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 6.0 frames per sec 1.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 4.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps) 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 Motion JPEG
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
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 seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 646 grams (1.42 pounds) 153 grams (0.34 pounds)
Dimensions 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") 101 x 65 x 28mm (4.0" x 2.6" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 79 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 23.7 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 13.1 not tested
DXO Low light rating 1087 not tested
Other
Battery life 710 photos -
Style of battery AA -
Battery ID 4 x AA D-LI68
Self timer Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Pricing at launch $600 $150