Canon EOS R50 vs Pentax WG-3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS R50 and the Pentax WG-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 R50 was introduced in February 2023 and Pentax WG-3 was introduced in July 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 R50 over Pentax WG-3.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax WG-3 over Canon EOS R50.

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 R50 and Pentax WG-3 have 3.0" screens with 1,620k dot and 460k dot resolutions respectively. Canon EOS R50 has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Pentax WG-3 has a Fixed screen Canon EOS R50 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder on Canon EOS R50

Canon EOS R50 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.95x (0.59x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Pentax WG-3.

Canon EOS R50 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.3 x 14.9 mm and a total area of 332.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 100 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Pentax WG-3 features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 125 - 6,400.

Pentax WG-3 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Canon EOS R50 is equipped with DIGIC X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Pentax WG-3 can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4288 x 3216, 4224 x 2376, 3216 x 3216, 3072 x 2304, 3072 x 1728, 2592 x 1944, 2592 x 1464, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Pentax WG-3 has an image stabilization.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Canon EOS R50

Canon EOS R50 has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Canon EOS R50

Canon EOS R50 has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS R50 has a Micro HDMI and Pentax WG-3 has a Type D Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS R50 comes with LP-E17 battery pack with battery life of 370 shots and Pentax WG-3 comes with D-LI92 battery pack with battery life of 240 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS R50 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slot. Pentax WG-3 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS R50 has Electronic 1st curtain shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/4000 sec with electronic 1st curtain shutter on Canon EOS R50, and up to 1/4000 sec on Pentax WG-3. Canon EOS R50 can shoot continuously up to 15.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 12.0 fps with electronic 1st curtain shutter. Pentax WG-3 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS R50 has Dual Pixel CMOS AF II system with 651 focusing points and Pentax WG-3 has 9 focusing points. Canon EOS R50 has detection range from -4 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS R50 ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Canon EOS R50. You can also do exposure lock and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS R50 and exposure bracketing on Pentax WG-3.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 6m at ISO 100 on Canon EOS R50 and 3.40 m on Pentax WG-3. Canon EOS R50 also accepts external flash which can be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Canon EOS R50.

Canon EOS R50 body has dimensions of 116 x 86 x 69 mm (4.57 x 3.39 x 2.72") and Pentax WG-3 body has dimensions of 124 x 64 x 33 mm (4.88 x 2.52 x 1.3"). Canon EOS R50 weighs 375 g (0.83 lb / 13.23 oz) and Pentax WG-3 weighs 230 g (0.51 lb / 8.11 oz).

Canon EOS R50

Pentax WG-3

116 mm

86 mm

124 mm

64 mm