Clicky

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII

Portability
90
Imaging
40
Features
43
Overall
41
Pentax WG-3 GPS front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII front
Portability
88
Imaging
54
Features
78
Overall
63

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII Key Specs

Pentax WG-3 GPS
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-100mm (F2.0-4.9) lens
  • 238g - 125 x 64 x 33mm
  • Announced July 2013
Sony RX100 VII
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8-4.5) lens
  • 302g - 102 x 58 x 43mm
  • Revealed July 2019
  • Older Model is Sony RX100 VI
Photography Glossary

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII Overview

Here is a extensive assessment of the Pentax WG-3 GPS and Sony RX100 VII, former being a Waterproof while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Pentax and Sony. The image resolution of the WG-3 GPS (16MP) and the RX100 VII (20MP) is fairly comparable but the WG-3 GPS (1/2.3") and RX100 VII (1") provide different sensor measurements.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

The WG-3 GPS was revealed 7 years before the RX100 VII and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Pentax WG-3 GPS being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 VII being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving right into a full comparison, here is a brief overview of how the WG-3 GPS grades vs the RX100 VII in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone
	
	

Reasons to pick Pentax WG-3 GPS over the Sony RX100 VII

 WG-3 GPS RX100 VII 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 VII over the Pentax WG-3 GPS

 RX100 VII WG-3 GPS 
RevealedJuly 2019July 2013Fresher by 73 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution921k460kSharper display (+461k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch display Easily navigate

Common features in the Pentax WG-3 GPS and Sony RX100 VII

 WG-3 GPS RX100 VII 
Manually focus Very accurate focus
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display measurements

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII Physical Comparison

For anybody who is going to carry your camera often, you are going to need to think about its weight and volume. The Pentax WG-3 GPS features outside dimensions of 125mm x 64mm x 33mm (4.9" x 2.5" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 238 grams (0.52 lbs) and the Sony RX100 VII has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 43mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.7") having a weight of 302 grams (0.67 lbs).

Check the Pentax WG-3 GPS and Sony RX100 VII in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with during that time. The following is a front view size comparison of the WG-3 GPS and the RX100 VII.

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the WG-3 GPS and RX100 VII is 90 and 88 respectively.

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII top view buttons comparison

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII Sensor Comparison

Generally, it is difficult to picture the difference in sensor sizing only by seeing technical specs. The graphic here will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the WG-3 GPS and RX100 VII.

As you have seen, the two cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The WG-3 GPS having a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Sony RX100 VII will provide greater detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop images more aggressively. The older WG-3 GPS will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII sensor size comparison

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII Screen and ViewFinder

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Pentax WG-3 GPS Portrait photography information
Sony RX100 VII Portrait photography information
41
focusing manually
decent MP (16 megapixels)
has face detect focus
manual exposure not available
cannot use external flash
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
66
has manual focus
high flash sync (1/2,000 seconds)
megapixel count good (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
features face detection focusing
supports RAW files
external flash not possible
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Street Comparison

Street photography with Pentax WG-3 GPS
Street photography with Sony RX100 VII
59
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
environment proofing
no articulating screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
more heavy than others in class (238 grams)
85
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW files
boasts touch focus
lighter than competition (302 grams)
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Sports Comparison

Pentax WG-3 GPS Sports photography information
Sony RX100 VII Sports photography information
45
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (16MP)
has tracking focus
environment proofing
no shutter priority
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
low battery life (240 per charge)
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
70
quiet shutter (1/32,000s)
max frames per second high (20.0 fps)
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20MP)
sensor size is decent (1")
features tracking autofocus
sensor has phase detect AF
bad battery pack (260 CIPA)
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Travel Comparison

Pentax WG-3 GPS Travel photography factors
Sony RX100 VII Travel photography factors
69
environment proofing
decent MP (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
rather wide (25mm)
great max aperture (f2.0)
low battery life (240 CIPA)
more heavy than others in class (238g)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
77
lighter than competition (302g)
connects via bluetooth
boasts touch focus
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
flash built-in
screen is selfie friendly
relatively wide (24mm)
bad battery pack (260 shots)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Pentax WG-3 GPS
Landscape photography with Sony RX100 VII
54
focusing manually
rather wide (25mm)
great max aperture (f2.0)
decent sized screen (3")
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent MP (16 megapixels)
environment proofing
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
manual exposure not available
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
low battery life (240 CIPA)
65
has manual focus
relatively wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (1")
supports RAW files
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
bad battery pack (260 shots)
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Pentax WG-3 GPS
Vlogging with Sony RX100 VII
34
rather wide (25mm)
great max aperture (f2.0)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detect focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
no microphone support
more heavy than others in class (238g)
81
relatively wide (24mm)
screen is selfie friendly
screen is touchscreen
has image stabilization (Optical)
features face detection focusing
good video quality (3840 x 2160 pixels)
includes external mic support
lighter than competition (302g)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Pentax WG-3 GPS vs Sony RX100 VII Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Pentax WG-3 GPS and Sony RX100 VII
 Pentax WG-3 GPSSony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII
General Information
Make Pentax Sony
Model Pentax WG-3 GPS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII
Category Waterproof Large Sensor Compact
Announced 2013-07-19 2019-07-25
Physical type Compact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Chip - Bionz X
Sensor type BSI-CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4608 x 3456 5472 x 3648
Maximum native ISO 6400 12800
Min native ISO 125 125
RAW pictures
Min enhanced ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points 9 -
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-100mm (4.0x) 24-200mm (8.3x)
Highest aperture f/2.0-4.9 f/2.8-4.5
Macro focus range 1cm 8cm
Crop factor 5.8 2.7
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of display 460k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display technology Widescreen TFT color LCD with anti-reflective coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,360k dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Min shutter speed 4s 30s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Max quiet shutter speed - 1/32000s
Continuous shutter rate - 20.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 3.40 m 5.90 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft -
Hot shoe
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 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery & USB charger
GPS BuiltIn None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 238 gr (0.52 lbs) 302 gr (0.67 lbs)
Physical dimensions 125 x 64 x 33mm (4.9" x 2.5" x 1.3") 102 x 58 x 43mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 63
DXO Color Depth score not tested 21.8
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.4
DXO Low light score not tested 418
Other
Battery life 240 photographs 260 photographs
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model D-LI92 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC card, Internal SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo
Card slots One One
Price at release $350 $1,298