Canon EOS 5DS vs Pentax K-3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS 5DS and the Pentax K-3, 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 5DS was introduced in February 2015 and Pentax K-3 was introduced in April 2014. 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 5DS over Pentax K-3.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-3 over Canon EOS 5DS.

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 5DS and Pentax K-3 have 3.2" Fixed screens with 1,040k dot and 1,037k dot resolutions respectively.

Viewfinder

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

Canon EOS 5DS features a 50.6 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36 x 24 mm and a total area of 864 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400 and expands to 100 - 12,800 in boosted mode. Pentax K-3 features a 23.35 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200.

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 5DS is equipped with Dual DIGIC 6 processor and can take pictures up to 8688 x 5792 resolution. Pentax K-3 is equipped with PRIME III processor and can take pictures up to 6016 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 3072, 3072 x 2048, 1920 x 1080 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS 5DS has Canon EF lens mount and Pentax K-3 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Canon EOS 5DS its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to APS-C sensor in Pentax K-3 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.

No Low-Pass Filter on Pentax K-3

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Pentax K-3. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Pentax K-3

Pentax K-3 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 and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS 5DS has a Mini HDMI and Pentax K-3 has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS 5DS comes with LP-E6 battery pack with battery life of 700 shots and Pentax K-3 comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 560 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS 5DS has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) and one for CompactFlash (UDMA 7). Pentax K-3 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slots.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 5DS, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-3. Canon EOS 5DS can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Pentax K-3 can shoot continuously up to 8.3 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS 5DS has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 61 (41 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax K-3 has 27 (25 cross-type) focusing points. Canon EOS 5DS has detection range from -2 to +18 EV.

Exposure

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

Flash

Pentax K-3 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal or Wireless connection. Canon EOS 5DS has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Canon EOS 5DS and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-3.

Canon EOS 5DS body has dimensions of 152 x 116 x 76 mm (5.98 x 4.57 x 2.99") and Pentax K-3 body has dimensions of 131 x 100 x 77 mm (5.16 x 3.94 x 3.03"). Canon EOS 5DS weighs 930 g (2.05 lb / 32.80 oz) and Pentax K-3 weighs 800 g (1.76 lb / 28.22 oz).

Canon EOS 5DS

Pentax K-3

152 mm

116 mm

131 mm

100 mm

116 mm

100 mm

76 mm

77 mm