Pentax K-500 vs Sony RX100 IV

Following is a detailed assessment of the Pentax K-500 vs Sony RX100 IV, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Pentax and Sony. The resolution of the K-500 (16MP) and the RX100 IV (20MP) is very close but the K-500 (APS-C) and RX100 IV (1") enjoy different sensor dimensions.

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The K-500 was brought out 18 months prior to the RX100 IV making the cameras a generation away from each other. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX100 IV being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving through a full comparison, below is a quick summary of how the K-500 scores vs the RX100 IV when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Pentax K-500 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV. The entire galleries are viewable at Pentax K-500 Gallery and Sony RX100 IV Gallery.

If you are intending to carry around your camera frequently, you should consider its weight and proportions. The Pentax K-500 provides physical measurements of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 IV has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") with a weight of 298 grams (0.66 lbs).

Check the Pentax K-500 vs Sony RX100 IV in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have at the time. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the K-500 versus the RX100 IV.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the K-500 and RX100 IV is 64 and 89 respectively.

Usually, it is hard to imagine the contrast in sensor sizes purely by researching a spec sheet. The pic below might provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the K-500 and RX100 IV.

As you can see, each of the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The K-500 featuring a larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Sony RX100 IV will render greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos much more aggressively. The more aged K-500 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.