Canon EOS Rebel SL1 vs Pentax K-5 II

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 and the Pentax K-5 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-5 II was introduced in June 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 Rebel SL1 over Pentax K-5 II.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-5 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 and Pentax K-5 II have 3.0" Fixed screens with 1,040k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively. 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-5 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-5 II has 100% coverage with 0.92x (0.61x 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-5 II 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 - 12,800 and expands to 80 - 51,200 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 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-5 II is equipped with PRIME II processor and can take pictures up to 4928 x 3264 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 Rebel SL1 has Canon EF/EF-S lens mount and Pentax K-5 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-5 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Pentax K-5 II

Pentax K-5 II 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 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has a Mini HDMI and Pentax K-5 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-5 II comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 980 shots.

External Storage Slots

Cameras have a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Canon EOS Rebel SL1, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-5 II. Canon EOS Rebel SL1 can shoot continuously up to 4.0 fps. Pentax K-5 II can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 9 (1 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax K-5 II has 11 (9 cross-type) focusing points. Canon EOS Rebel SL1 has detection range from -0.5 to +18 EV.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 9.40 m on Canon EOS Rebel SL1 and 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Pentax K-5 II. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe to Canon EOS Rebel SL1 and via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Pentax K-5 II. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Canon EOS Rebel SL1.

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-5 II body has dimensions of 131 x 97 x 73 mm (5.16 x 3.82 x 2.87"). Canon EOS Rebel SL1 weighs 407 g (0.90 lb / 14.36 oz) and Pentax K-5 II weighs 760 g (1.68 lb / 26.81 oz).

Canon EOS Rebel SL1

Pentax K-5 II

117 mm

91 mm

131 mm

97 mm

91 mm

97 mm

69 mm

73 mm