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Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III

Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
31
Overall
34
Pentax Optio S1 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III front
Portability
89
Imaging
51
Features
77
Overall
61

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III Key Specs

Pentax S1
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Revealed March 2011
Sony RX100 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 290g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Launched May 2014
  • Succeeded the Sony RX100 II
  • Renewed by Sony RX100 IV
Photography Glossary

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III Overview

Here, we will be contrasting the Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by competitors Pentax and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the sensor resolutions of the S1 (14MP) and RX100 III (20MP) and the S1 (1/2.3") and RX100 III (1") posses totally different sensor size.

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The S1 was launched 4 years prior to the RX100 III and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Pentax S1 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go right into a complete comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the S1 scores against the RX100 III in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Pentax S1 over the Sony RX100 III

 S1 RX100 III 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 III over the Pentax S1

 RX100 III S1 
LaunchedMay 2014March 2011Fresher by 39 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen size3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution1229k230kCrisper screen (+999k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Pentax S1 and Sony RX100 III

 S1 RX100 III 
Focus manually More accurate focusing
Touch friendly screen Neither offers Touch friendly screen

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III Physical Comparison

For anyone who is aiming to carry your camera, you'll have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Pentax S1 offers outer dimensions of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") along with a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 III has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") with a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

Check out the Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have during that time. The following is a front view over all size comparison of the S1 and the RX100 III.

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the S1 and RX100 III is 93 and 89 respectively.

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III top view buttons comparison

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is very hard to envision the difference in sensor sizing purely by seeing specs. The photograph here will offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the S1 and RX100 III.

All in all, each of the cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The S1 because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony RX100 III will provide extra detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older S1 will be behind with regard to sensor technology.

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III sensor size comparison

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Pentax S1 Portrait photography info
Sony RX100 III Portrait photography info
35
you can focus manually
megapixel count decent (14MP)
manual exposure not possible
cannot use external flash
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
64
manual focus
above average flash sync speed (1/2,000s)
good MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
includes face detection focusing
supports RAW formats
can't use external flash
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Street Comparison

Pentax S1 as a Street photography camera
Sony RX100 III as a Street photography camera
56
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
screen does not articulate
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
85
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW formats
lighter than competition in class (290g)
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Sports Comparison

Pentax S1 Sports photography advice
Sony RX100 III Sports photography advice
39
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
supports tracking autofocus
slow fps (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no phase detect auto focus
65
has image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
includes tracking autofocus
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Pentax S1
Travel photography with Sony RX100 III
64
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (28mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
85
lighter than competition in class (290g)
good MP (20 megapixels)
has built in flash
screen is selfie friendly
fairly wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Pentax S1 Landscape photography highlights
Sony RX100 III Landscape photography highlights
42
you can focus manually
reasonably wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
small screen (2.7 inch)
manual exposure not possible
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
lack of Timelapse recording
73
manual focus
fairly wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
nice screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW formats
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
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Vlogging Comparison

Pentax S1 as a Vlogging camera
Sony RX100 III as a Vlogging camera
28
reasonably wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen isn't selfie friendly
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
lack of external microphone socket
80
fairly wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
screen is selfie friendly
has image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition in class (290g)
no external microphone support
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Pentax S1 vs Sony RX100 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax S1 and Sony RX100 III
 Pentax Optio S1Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
General Information
Manufacturer Pentax Sony
Model type Pentax Optio S1 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III
Type Small Sensor Compact Large Sensor Compact
Revealed 2011-03-02 2014-05-15
Physical type Compact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by - Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4288 x 3216 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 6400 12800
Lowest native ISO 80 125
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 9 25
Lens
Lens support fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 28-140mm (5.0x) 24-70mm (2.9x)
Max aperture f/3.5-5.5 f/1.8-2.8
Macro focusing range 1cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 2.7
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 2.7 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 230k dots 1,229k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display tech TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440k dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Min shutter speed 4s 30s
Max shutter speed 1/1500s 1/2000s
Continuous shutter rate 1.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 3.90 m -
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft -
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/2000s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p/60i/24p), 1280 x 720 (60p/30p/24p/120p), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone support
Headphone support
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 pounds) 290 gr (0.64 pounds)
Physical dimensions 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 67
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 22.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.3
DXO Low light rating not tested 495
Other
Battery life 260 images 320 images
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID D-LI92 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, self-portrait, continuous)
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots One One
Price at release $174 $748