Canon EOS Rebel XSi vs Pentax K-7

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS Rebel XSi and the Pentax K-7, 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 XSi was introduced in May 2008 and Pentax K-7 was introduced in October 2009. 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 XSi over Pentax K-7.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-7 over Canon EOS Rebel XSi.

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 XSi and Pentax K-7 have 3.0" Fixed screens with 230k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinderPentax K-7 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. Canon EOS Rebel XSi has 95% coverage with 0.87x (0.54x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Pentax K-7 has 100% coverage with 0.92x (0.61x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Canon EOS Rebel XSi features a 12.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.2 x 14.8 mm and a total area of 328.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600. Pentax K-7 features a 15 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.4 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 2,000 and expands to 100 - 6,400 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 XSi can take pictures up to 4272 x 2848 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3088 x 2056, 2256 x 1504 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Pentax K-7 is equipped with PRIME II processor and can take pictures up to 4672 x 3104 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3936 x 2592, 3072 x 2048, 1728 x 1152 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has Canon EF/EF-S lens mount and Pentax K-7 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 XSi 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-7 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-7

Pentax K-7 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. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K-7 comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 980 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has a single SD/SDHC/MMC card slot. Pentax K-7 has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has Electronically-controlled Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Canon EOS Rebel XSi, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-7. Canon EOS Rebel XSi can shoot continuously up to 3.5 fps. Pentax K-7 can shoot continuously up to 5.2 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS Rebel XSi has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 9 focusing points and Pentax K-7 has 11 focusing points..

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS Rebel XSi ranges from +1 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±2 EV range on Canon EOS Rebel XSi and ±5 EV range on Pentax K-7. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS Rebel XSi and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-7.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Canon EOS Rebel XSi and 13.00 m on Pentax K-7. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Pentax K-7. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Canon EOS Rebel XSi and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-7.

Canon EOS Rebel XSi body has dimensions of 129 x 98 x 62 mm (5.08 x 3.86 x 2.44") and Pentax K-7 body has dimensions of 131 x 97 x 73 mm (5.16 x 3.82 x 2.87"). Canon EOS Rebel XSi weighs 524 g (1.16 lb / 18.48 oz) and Pentax K-7 weighs 750 g (1.65 lb / 26.46 oz).

Canon EOS Rebel XSi

Pentax K-7

129 mm

98 mm

131 mm

97 mm

98 mm

97 mm

62 mm

73 mm