Canon EOS Rebel SL1 vs Pentax K-3 Mark II

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 and the Pentax K-3 Mark II, 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 Rebel SL1 was introduced in July 2013 and Pentax K-3 Mark II was introduced in April 2015. 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 Rebel SL1 over Pentax K-3 Mark II.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-3 Mark II over Canon EOS Rebel SL1.

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 Rebel SL1 has a 3.0" screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Pentax K-3 Mark II has a 3.2" screen with 1,037k dot resolution. Both have Fixed screens. Canon EOS Rebel SL1 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.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinderPentax K-3 Mark II has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has 95% coverage with 0.87x (0.55x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Pentax K-3 Mark II has 100% coverage with 0.95x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 features a 18.0 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 - 12,800 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode. Pentax K-3 Mark II features a 24.35 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 Rebel SL1 is equipped with DIGIC 5 processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 5184 x 2912, 4608 x 3456,3456 x 3456, 3456 x 2304, 3456 x 1944, 3072 x 2304, 2592 x 1728, 2592 x 1456, 2304 x 1728, 2304 x 2304, 1920 x 1280, 1920 x 1080, 1728 x 1728, 1696 x 1280, 1280 x 1280, 720 x 480, 720 x 400, 640 x 480, 480 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Pentax K-3 Mark II 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 Rebel SL1 has Canon EF/EF-S lens mount and Pentax K-3 Mark II 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 Rebel SL1 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-3 Mark II 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.

No Low-Pass Filter on Pentax K-3 Mark II

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Pentax K-3 Mark II. 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 Mark II

Pentax K-3 Mark II has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 4.5 stops of compensation. 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 Pentax K-3 Mark II

Pentax K-3 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. Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has a Mini HDMI and Pentax K-3 Mark II has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 comes with LP-E12 battery pack with battery life of 380 shots and Pentax K-3 Mark II comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 720 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Pentax K-3 Mark II has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slots.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Canon EOS Rebel SL1, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-3 Mark II. Canon EOS Rebel SL1 can shoot continuously up to 4.0 fps. Pentax K-3 Mark II can shoot continuously up to 8.3 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 9 (1 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax K-3 Mark II has 27 (25 cross-type) focusing points. Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has detection range from -0.5 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Pentax K-3 Mark II ranges from -3 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 Rebel SL1 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-3 Mark II.

Flash

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 9.40 m and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Pentax K-3 Mark II 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 Rebel SL1 and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-3 Mark II.

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 body has dimensions of 117 x 91 x 69 mm (4.61 x 3.58 x 2.72") and Pentax K-3 Mark II body has dimensions of 131 x 100 x 77 mm (5.16 x 3.94 x 3.03"). Canon EOS Rebel SL1 weighs 407 g (0.90 lb / 14.36 oz) and Pentax K-3 Mark II weighs 800 g (1.76 lb / 28.22 oz).

Canon EOS Rebel SL1

Pentax K-3 Mark II

117 mm

91 mm

131 mm

100 mm

91 mm

100 mm

69 mm

77 mm