Canon EOS 7D Mark II vs Pentax K-r

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS 7D Mark II and the Pentax K-r, 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 7D Mark II was introduced in September 2014 and Pentax K-r was introduced in March 2011. 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 7D Mark II over Pentax K-r.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-r over Canon EOS 7D Mark II.

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 7D Mark II and Pentax K-r have 3.0" Fixed screens with 1,040k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderPentax K-r has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. Canon EOS 7D Mark II has 100% coverage with 1x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Pentax K-r has 96% coverage with 0.85x (0.57x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II features a 20.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.4 x 15 mm and a total area of 336 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 16,000 and expands to 100 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Pentax K-r features a 12 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.6 x 15.8 mm and a total area of 249.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 12,800 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode.

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 7D Mark II is equipped with Dual DIGIC 6 processor and can take pictures up to 5472 x 3648 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4104 x 2736 (M-Raw), 3648 x 2432, 2736 x 1824, 1920 x 1080, 720 x 480 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Pentax K-r is equipped with PRIME II processor and can take pictures up to 4288 x 2848 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3936 x 2624, 3072 x 2048, 1728 x 1152 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has Canon EF/EF-S lens mount and Pentax K-r has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount. They both have APS-C sensor but because of a small size difference their crop factors (also called lens multiplier) differ from each other. Canon EOS 7D Mark II has the crop factor of 1.6x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6. Pentax K-r has the crop factor of 1.5x which 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-r

Pentax K-r 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.

Built-in GPS on Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS 7D Mark II comes with LP-E6N battery pack with battery life of 670 shots and Pentax K-r comes with D-LI109
4 x AA battery pack with battery life of 470 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) and one for CompactFlash (UDMA 7). Pentax K-r has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has Electronically Controlled Vertical-travel Mechanical Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 7D Mark II, and up to 1/6000 sec on Pentax K-r. Canon EOS 7D Mark II can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Pentax K-r can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 65 (65 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax K-r has 11 (9 cross-type) focusing points. Canon EOS 7D Mark II has detection range from -3 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS 7D Mark II ranges from 0 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Canon EOS 7D Mark II and ±3 EV range on Pentax K-r. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 7D Mark II and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-r.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m on Canon EOS 7D Mark II and 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Pentax K-r. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Canon EOS 7D Mark II and via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Pentax K-r. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Canon EOS 7D Mark II and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-r.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II body has dimensions of 149 x 112 x 78 mm (5.87 x 4.41 x 3.07") and Pentax K-r body has dimensions of 125 x 97 x 68 mm (4.92 x 3.82 x 2.68"). Canon EOS 7D Mark II weighs 910 g (2.01 lb / 32.10 oz) and Pentax K-r weighs 598 g (1.32 lb / 21.09 oz).

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Pentax K-r

149 mm

112 mm

125 mm

97 mm

112 mm

97 mm

78 mm

68 mm