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Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II

Portability
64
Imaging
58
Features
70
Overall
62
Pentax K-500 front
 
Sony Alpha A9 Mark II front
Portability
62
Imaging
76
Features
93
Overall
82

Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II Key Specs

Pentax K-500
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 646g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Released November 2013
Sony A9 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Raise to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 678g - 129 x 96 x 76mm
  • Introduced October 2019
  • Succeeded the Sony A9
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Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II Overview

Here, we are contrasting the Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Pro Mirrorless by rivals Pentax and Sony. There is a big difference among the image resolutions of the K-500 (16MP) and A9 II (24MP) and the K-500 (APS-C) and A9 II (Full frame) have totally different sensor measurements.

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The K-500 was unveiled 6 years before the A9 II which is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony A9 II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a short overview of how the K-500 scores vs the A9 II in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Pentax K-500 over the Sony A9 II

 K-500 A9 II 

Reasons to pick Sony A9 II over the Pentax K-500

 A9 II K-500 
IntroducedOctober 2019November 2013More modern by 71 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution1440k921kClearer display (+519k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Common features in the Pentax K-500 and Sony A9 II

 K-500 A9 II 
Focus manually Dial exact focus
Display size3"3"Same display measurements
Selfie screen Neither contains selfie screen

Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II Physical Comparison

If you're going to carry around your camera regularly, you are going to need to take into account its weight and size. The Pentax K-500 has got exterior 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 Sony A9 II has specifications of 129mm x 96mm x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0") having a weight of 678 grams (1.49 lbs).

Check the Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you select at that time. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the K-500 compared to the A9 II.

Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the K-500 and A9 II is 64 and 62 respectively.

Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II top view buttons comparison

Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II Sensor Comparison

Often, it's difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor sizes just by looking through specs. The picture here may offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the K-500 and A9 II.

All in all, each of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The K-500 with its smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF tougher and the Sony A9 II will result in extra detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images a good deal more aggressively. The more aged K-500 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II sensor size comparison

Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Pentax K-500 Portrait photography details
Sony A9 II Portrait photography details
74
has manual focus
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
features face detect autofocus
supports RAW formats
85
focusing manually
MP count good (24MP)
sensor size is large (Full frame)
features face detect focus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Pentax K-500 Street photography factors
Sony A9 II Street photography factors
68
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
very good ISO range (51,600)
fixed screen
78
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is large (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
comes with touch focus
environment proof
good ISO range (51,200)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Pentax K-500
Sports photography with Sony A9 II
72
max shutter speed is good (1/6,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
features tracking focus
great battery pack (710 CIPA)
supports phase detect autofocus
low frames per second (6.0 fps)
88
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
quiet mode (1/32,000s)
max fps high (20.0 fps)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (24MP)
sensor size is large (Full frame)
features tracking focus
environment proof
good battery power (690 CIPA)
comes with phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Pentax K-500
Travel photography with Sony A9 II
67
great battery pack (710 per charge)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
flash built-in
does not contain selfie friendly screen
73
good battery power (690 shots)
environment proof
connects via bluetooth
comes with touch focus
MP count good (24MP)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Pentax K-500
Landscape photography with Sony A9 II
79
has manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
very good ISO range (51,600)
supports RAW formats
great battery pack (710 per charge)
86
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (24MP)
sensor size is large (Full frame)
good ISO range (51,200)
exports RAW formats
environment proof
good battery power (690 shots)
has dual storage slots
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Pentax K-500
Vlogging with Sony A9 II
30
image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detect autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
doesn't have mic port
36
has touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
features face detect focus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 pxls)
does have microphone jack
display is not selfie friendly
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Pentax K-500 vs Sony A9 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax K-500 and Sony A9 II
 Pentax K-500Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
General Information
Company Pentax Sony
Model type Pentax K-500 Sony Alpha A9 Mark II
Type Entry-Level DSLR Pro Mirrorless
Released 2013-11-27 2019-10-03
Body design Compact SLR SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip PRIME M BIONZ X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C Full frame
Sensor measurements 23.7 x 15.7mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor area 372.1mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 3:2
Full resolution 4928 x 3264 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 51600 51200
Max boosted ISO - 204800
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Min boosted ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 11 693
Cross type focus points 9 -
Lens
Lens support Pentax KAF2 Sony E
Total lenses 151 121
Focal length multiplier 1.5 1
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 921 thousand dot 1,440 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 3,686 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.61x 0.78x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/6000 secs 1/8000 secs
Highest quiet shutter speed - 1/32000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 6.0 frames per second 20.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 12.00 m (at ISO 100) no built-in flash
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
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) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Max video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS Optional None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 646 grams (1.42 lb) 678 grams (1.49 lb)
Physical dimensions 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") 129 x 96 x 76mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.0")
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 images 690 images
Type of battery AA Battery Pack
Battery ID 4 x AA NP-FZ100
Self timer Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds) Yes (2, 5, 10 secs + continuous, 3 or 5 frames)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II compatible)
Storage slots One Dual
Retail price $600 $4,498