Pentax K-500 vs Sony HX80

Its time to look more in depth at the Pentax K-500 and Sony HX80, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Pentax and Sony. The resolution of the K-500 (16MP) and the HX80 (18MP) is very comparable but the K-500 (APS-C) and HX80 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor dimensions.

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The K-500 was unveiled 3 years prior to the HX80 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX80 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick view of how the K-500 matches up against the HX80 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Pentax K-500 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80. The full galleries are available at Pentax K-500 Gallery & Sony HX80 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Pentax K-500 comes with outer dimensions of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") having a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs) and the Sony HX80 has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") and a weight of 245 grams (0.54 lbs).

Examine the Pentax K-500 and Sony HX80 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilizing during that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the K-500 compared to the HX80.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the K-500 and HX80 is 64 and 91 respectively.

Usually, its difficult to see the gap in sensor sizing only by seeing technical specs. The graphic below will provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the K-500 and HX80.

As you can tell, each of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The K-500 having a larger sensor will make shooting bokeh simpler and the Sony HX80 will provide greater detail having an extra 2MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older K-500 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.