Nikon Z fc vs Pentax K-500

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z fc and the Pentax K-500, 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.

Nikon Z fc was introduced in June 2021 and Pentax K-500 was introduced in November 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 Nikon Z fc over Pentax K-500.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-500 over Nikon Z fc.

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

Nikon Z fc and Pentax K-500 have 3.0" screens with 1,040k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively. Nikon Z fc has a Fully Articulated screen which makes it selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Pentax K-500 has a Fixed screen Nikon Z fc 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

Nikon Z fc has a built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution and Pentax K-500 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. They both have 100% coverage.

Nikon Z fc features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 369 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 100 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Pentax K-500 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 - 51,600.

Nikon Z fc 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.

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

Nikon Z fc is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution. Pentax K-500 is equipped with PRIME M processor and can take pictures up to 4928 x 3264 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4224 x 2816, 3456 x 2304, 2688 x 1792 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Nikon Z fc has Nikon Z lens mount and Pentax K-500 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount. Due to their APS-C sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1.5x. This 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 Nikon Z fc

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon Z fc. 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-500

Pentax K-500 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 Wi-Fi on Nikon Z fc

Nikon Z fc has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 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 Nikon Z fc

Nikon Z fc has a built-in Bluetooth 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. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z fc comes with EN-EL25 battery pack with battery life of 300 shots and Pentax K-500 comes with 4 x AA battery pack with battery life of 710 shots.

External Storage Slots

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

Shutter

Nikon Z fc has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon Z fc, and up to 1/6000 sec on Pentax K-500. Nikon Z fc can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Pentax K-500 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z fc has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 209 focusing points and Pentax K-500 has 11 (9 cross-type) focusing points. Nikon Z fc has detection range from -4.5 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z fc ranges from -4 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z fc and ±5 EV range on Pentax K-500. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z fc and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-500.

Flash

Pentax K-500 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. Nikon Z fc has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Pentax K-500.

Nikon Z fc body has dimensions of 135 x 94 x 44 mm (5.31 x 3.7 x 1.73") and Pentax K-500 body has dimensions of 130 x 97 x 71 mm (5.12 x 3.82 x 2.8"). Nikon Z fc weighs 445 g (0.98 lb / 15.70 oz) and Pentax K-500 weighs 646 g (1.42 lb / 22.79 oz).

Nikon Z fc

Pentax K-500

135 mm

94 mm

130 mm

97 mm

94 mm

97 mm

44 mm

71 mm