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Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580

Portability
92
Imaging
37
Features
54
Overall
43
Pentax Q7 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A580 front
Portability
64
Imaging
56
Features
82
Overall
66

Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 Key Specs

Pentax Q7
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/1.7" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax Q Mount
  • 200g - 102 x 58 x 34mm
  • Revealed August 2013
  • Old Model is Pentax Q10
Sony A580
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Increase to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 599g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Revealed May 2011
  • Succeeded the Sony A100
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Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 Overview

Lets take a more detailed look at the Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Pentax and Sony. There is a huge difference between the image resolutions of the Q7 (12MP) and A580 (16MP) and the Q7 (1/1.7") and A580 (APS-C) enjoy different sensor dimensions.

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The Q7 was manufactured 2 years later than the A580 and that is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Pentax Q7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go through a in-depth comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the Q7 scores vs the A580 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Pentax Q7 over the Sony A580

 Q7 A580 
RevealedAugust 2013May 2011Fresher by 27 months

Reasons to pick Sony A580 over the Pentax Q7

 A580 Q7 
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution922k460kClearer display (+462k dot)

Common features in the Pentax Q7 and Sony A580

 Q7 A580 
Manually focus Very accurate focusing
Display dimension3"3"Identical display sizing
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen
Touch display Neither includes Touch display

Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to carry your camera regularly, you'll have to consider its weight and dimensions. The Pentax Q7 features external measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs) whilst the Sony A580 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Check the Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you select at that moment. Underneath is the front view over all size comparison of the Q7 against the A580.

Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the Q7 and A580 is 92 and 64 respectively.

Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 top view buttons comparison

Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it's tough to visualize the gap between sensor sizing simply by reading through specifications. The graphic here should provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the Q7 and A580.

To sum up, both the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The Q7 due to its tinier sensor is going to make achieving bokeh more difficult and the Sony A580 will resolve more detail due to its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more modern Q7 should have an edge with regard to sensor technology.

Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 sensor size comparison

Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Pentax Q7 Portrait photography factors
Sony A580 Portrait photography factors
48
focusing manually
great flash sync speed (1/2,000s)
offers face detect focusing
saves RAW files
low MP (12MP)
very small sensor size (1/1.7")
73
has manual focus
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
provides face detection focus
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Pentax Q7 Street photography features
Sony A580 Street photography features
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
saves RAW files
lighter than others (200g)
screen is fixed
very small sensor size (1/1.7")
75
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Pentax Q7 as a Sports photography camera
Sony A580 as a Sports photography camera
32
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers tracking focus
max fps very slow (5.0 frames per second)
low MP (12 megapixels)
very small sensor size (1/1.7")
bad battery (250 per charge)
lacks phase detect AF
78
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
provides tracking autofocus
great battery power (1,050 CIPA)
sensor has phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Pentax Q7
Travel photography with Sony A580
60
lighter than others (200g)
built-in flash
bad battery (250 CIPA)
low MP (12MP)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
60
great battery power (1,050 CIPA)
megapixel count good (16MP)
built-in flash
no Timelapse recording
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Pentax Q7 Landscape photography features
Sony A580 Landscape photography features
55
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Pentax Q mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
saves RAW files
low MP (12MP)
very small sensor size (1/1.7")
bad battery (250 CIPA)
73
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (16MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
great battery power (1,050 shots)
two card slots
no Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Pentax Q7
Vlogging with Sony A580
35
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detect focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than others (200 grams)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
missing microphone port
34
image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detection focus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
includes external microphone socket
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
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Pentax Q7 vs Sony A580 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax Q7 and Sony A580
 Pentax Q7Sony Alpha DSLR-A580
General Information
Brand Pentax Sony
Model Pentax Q7 Sony Alpha DSLR-A580
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Revealed 2013-08-08 2011-05-26
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip - Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/1.7" APS-C
Sensor measurements 7.44 x 5.58mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 41.5mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 16MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4000 x 3000 4912 x 3264
Max native ISO 12800 12800
Max boosted ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points - 15
Cross focus points - 3
Lens
Lens mounting type Pentax Q Sony/Minolta Alpha
Amount of lenses 8 143
Focal length multiplier 4.8 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display size 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 460 thousand dots 922 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech TFT color LCD monitor, wide angle viewing, AR coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (optional) Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.53x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/2000s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting rate 5.0 frames/s 7.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.90 m (ISO100/m) 12.00 m
Flash settings P-TTL, Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Trailing Curtain Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/2000s 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions FullHD(1920x1080, 30fps/25fps/24fps), HD(1280x720,16:9,30fps/25fps/24fps), VGA(640x480,4:3,30fps/25fps/24fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 29.97 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 200 grams (0.44 lbs) 599 grams (1.32 lbs)
Dimensions 102 x 58 x 34mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.3") 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 80
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.8
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.3
DXO Low light score not tested 1121
Other
Battery life 250 photographs 1050 photographs
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model D-LI68 NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (12 sec, 2 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD, SDHC, SDXC and Eye-Fi Card SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Two
Retail cost $480 $848