Canon EOS-1D Mark III vs Pentax K-50

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS-1D Mark III and the Pentax K-50, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS-1D Mark III was introduced in February 2007 and Pentax K-50 was introduced in November 2013. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS-1D Mark III over Pentax K-50.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-50 over Canon EOS-1D Mark III.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS-1D Mark III and Pentax K-50 have 3.0" Fixed screens with 230k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively.

Viewfinder

Cameras have built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinders. They both have 100% coverage.

Canon EOS-1D Mark III features a 10.1 megapixel APS-H CMOS sensor with dimensions of 28.7 x 18.7 mm and a total area of 536.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200 and expands to 50 - 6,400 in boosted mode. Pentax K-50 features a 16.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.7 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 246.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,600.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS-1D Mark III can take pictures up to 3888 x 2592 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3456 x 2304, 2816 x 1880, 1936 x 1288 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Pentax K-50 is equipped with PRIME M processor and can take pictures up to 4928 x 3264 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4224 x 2816, 3456 x 2304, 2688 x 1792 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS-1D Mark III has Canon EF lens mount and Pentax K-50 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount. Due to APS-H sensor in Canon EOS-1D Mark III its crop factor is equal to 1.3x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.3. Due to APS-C sensor in Pentax K-50 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Pentax K-50

Pentax K-50 has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

USB Inputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer.

Battery

Pentax K-50 comes with D-LI109 battery pack with battery life of 410 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS-1D Mark III has two card slots - one for SD and one for CompactFlash (Type I/II). Pentax K-50 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS-1D Mark III has Electronically Controlled Vertical-travel Mechanical Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS-1D Mark III, and up to 1/6000 sec on Pentax K-50. Canon EOS-1D Mark III can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Pentax K-50 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS-1D Mark III has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 45 (19 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax K-50 has 11 (9 cross-type) focusing points..

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS-1D Mark III ranges from 0 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Canon EOS-1D Mark III and ±5 EV range on Pentax K-50. You can also do exposure lock and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS-1D Mark III and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-50.

Flash

Pentax K-50 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. Canon EOS-1D Mark III has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/300 sec on Canon EOS-1D Mark III and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-50.

Canon EOS-1D Mark III body has dimensions of 156 x 157 x 80 mm (6.14 x 6.18 x 3.15") and Pentax K-50 body has dimensions of 130 x 97 x 71 mm (5.12 x 3.82 x 2.8"). Canon EOS-1D Mark III weighs 1335 g (2.94 lb / 47.09 oz) and Pentax K-50 weighs 650 g (1.43 lb / 22.93 oz).

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Pentax K-50

156 mm

157 mm

130 mm

97 mm

157 mm

97 mm

80 mm

71 mm