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Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II

Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
30
Overall
34
Pentax Optio RS1500 front
 
Sony Alpha A99 II front
Portability
57
Imaging
77
Features
92
Overall
83

Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II Key Specs

Pentax RS1500
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-110mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Launched March 2011
Sony A99 II
(Full Review)
  • 42MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600 (Push to 102400)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 849g - 143 x 104 x 76mm
  • Launched September 2016
  • Succeeded the Sony A99
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Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II Overview

Let's take a closer look at the Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Pentax and Sony. There is a huge difference between the resolutions of the RS1500 (14MP) and A99 II (42MP) and the RS1500 (1/2.3") and A99 II (Full frame) use different sensor dimensions.

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The RS1500 was brought out 6 years prior to the A99 II which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Pentax RS1500 being a Compact camera and the Sony A99 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go in to a full comparison, below is a quick overview of how the RS1500 matches up vs the A99 II with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Pentax RS1500 over the Sony A99 II

 RS1500 A99 II 

Reasons to pick Sony A99 II over the Pentax RS1500

 A99 II RS1500 
LaunchedSeptember 2016March 2011More modern by 67 months
Screen typeFully articulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen sizing3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution1229k230kSharper screen (+999k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Pentax RS1500 and Sony A99 II

 RS1500 A99 II 
Manually focus More accurate focusing
Touch friendly screen Neither offers Touch friendly screen

Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to consider its weight and proportions. The Pentax RS1500 offers outer measurements of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Sony A99 II has measurements of 143mm x 104mm x 76mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.0") with a weight of 849 grams (1.87 lbs).

Take a look at the Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the RS1500 compared to the A99 II.

Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the RS1500 and A99 II is 93 and 57 respectively.

Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II top view buttons comparison

Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II Sensor Comparison

Often, it is very difficult to visualize the difference between sensor sizes purely by reading a spec sheet. The pic below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the RS1500 and A99 II.

As you can see, both the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The RS1500 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A99 II will offer you greater detail having its extra 28MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The more aged RS1500 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.

Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II sensor size comparison

Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Pentax RS1500 Portrait photography factors
Sony A99 II Portrait photography factors
35
you can focus manually
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
lack of manual mode
can't use external flash
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
86
focusing manually
sensor resolution is great (42 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
provides face detection focus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Pentax RS1500
Street photography with Sony A99 II
54
environment proof
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
76
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
great sensor size (Full frame)
exports RAW formats
weather sealing
above average ISO range (25,600)
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Sports Comparison

Pentax RS1500 Sports photography features
Sony A99 II Sports photography features
37
decent megapixels (14MP)
has tracking focus
environment proof
max fps very slow (1.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
lack of image stabilization
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect AF
82
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor resolution is great (42 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
provides tracking autofocus
weather sealing
has phase detect auto focus
bad battery power (490 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Pentax RS1500
Travel photography with Sony A99 II
67
environment proof
decent megapixels (14MP)
has built in flash
really wide (28mm)
lack of Time Lapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
70
weather sealing
connects via bluetooth
sensor resolution is great (42 megapixels)
display is selfie friendly
bad battery power (490 per charge)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Pentax RS1500
Landscape photography with Sony A99 II
40
you can focus manually
really wide (28mm)
decent megapixels (14MP)
environment proof
can't swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
small screen (2.7")
lack of manual mode
lack of image stabilization
small sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
lack of Time Lapse mode
82
focusing manually
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor resolution is great (42 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
no anti-alias filter
above average ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW formats
weather sealing
two card slots
bad battery power (490 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Pentax RS1500 as a Vlogging camera
Sony A99 II as a Vlogging camera
25
really wide (28mm)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of image stabilization
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of mic jack
78
display is selfie friendly
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detection focus
video res high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
has external mic socket
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Pentax RS1500 vs Sony A99 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax RS1500 and Sony A99 II
 Pentax Optio RS1500Sony Alpha A99 II
General Information
Company Pentax Sony
Model type Pentax Optio RS1500 Sony Alpha A99 II
Type Small Sensor Compact Advanced DSLR
Launched 2011-03-16 2016-09-19
Physical type Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Full frame
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 35.9 x 24mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 861.6mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixels 42 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4288 x 3216 7952 x 5304
Maximum native ISO 6400 25600
Maximum boosted ISO - 102400
Min native ISO 80 100
RAW images
Min boosted ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 9 399
Cross type focus points - 79
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens zoom range 28-110mm (3.9x) -
Maximum aperture f/3.5-5.5 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Number of lenses - 143
Crop factor 5.8 1
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Fully articulated
Screen size 2.7" 3"
Screen resolution 230 thousand dots 1,229 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen technology TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.78x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 4s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/1500s 1/8000s
Continuous shooting rate 1.0 frames/s 12.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 3.90 m no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft Off, auto, fill, slow sync, redeye reduction, rear sync, high-speed sync, wireless
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/250s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) -
Maximum video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 157 gr (0.35 lbs) 849 gr (1.87 lbs)
Dimensions 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") 143 x 104 x 76mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 92
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 25.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 2317
Other
Battery life 260 photographs 490 photographs
Type of battery Battery Pack NP-FM500H lithium-ion battery & charger
Battery ID D-LI92 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2, 5, 10 secs)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS Duo slots
Card slots One Dual
Pricing at launch $150 $3,198