Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome vs Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS, 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.

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome was introduced in April 2023 and Canon PowerShot SX50 HS was introduced in January 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 Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome over Canon PowerShot SX50 HS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon PowerShot SX50 HS over Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome.

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

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a 3.2" Fixed screen with 1,620k dot resolution and Canon PowerShot SX50 HS has a 2.80" Fully Articulated screen with 461k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Canon PowerShot SX50 HS selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome 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

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderCanon PowerShot SX50 HS has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 202k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome features a 25.73 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.3 x 15.5 mm and a total area of 361.2 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 1,600,000. Canon PowerShot SX50 HS features a 12.1 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 80 - 6,400.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS 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.

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome is equipped with PRIME V processor and can take pictures up to 6192 x 4128 resolution. Canon PowerShot SX50 HS is equipped with DIGIC 5 processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 3000, 4000 x 2248, 4000 x 2664, 2992 x 2992, 2816 x 2112, 2816 x 1880, 2816 x 1584, 2112 x 2112, 1920 x 1080, 1600 x 1200, 1600 x 1064, 1200 x 1200, 640 x 480, 640 x 424, 640 x 360, 480 x 480 with 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

No Low-Pass Filter on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

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 III Monochrome. 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.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization (5.5 stops of compensation in Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome). On Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it 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 Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 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

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and Canon PowerShot SX50 HS have 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. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has a Micro HDMI and Canon PowerShot SX50 HS has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 800 shots and Canon PowerShot SX50 HS comes with NB-10L battery pack with battery life of 315 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I). Canon PowerShot SX50 HS has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome, and up to 1/2000 sec on Canon PowerShot SX50 HS. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome can shoot continuously up to 12.0 fps. Canon PowerShot SX50 HS can shoot continuously up to 2.2 fps.

Focusing

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has 101 (25 cross-type) focusing points and Canon PowerShot SX50 HS has 9 focusing points. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome has detection range from -3 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome ranges from -2 to +21 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and ±2 range on Canon PowerShot SX50 HS. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon PowerShot SX50 HS.

Flash

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS has a built-in flash with maximum range of 5.50 m and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Shoe Mount. Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome 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 Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and 1/2000 sec on Canon PowerShot SX50 HS.

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome body has dimensions of 135 x 104 x 74 mm (5.31 x 4.09 x 2.91") and Canon PowerShot SX50 HS body has dimensions of 123 x 87 x 106 mm (4.84 x 3.43 x 4.17"). Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome weighs 820 g (1.81 lb / 28.92 oz) and Canon PowerShot SX50 HS weighs 595 g (1.31 lb / 20.99 oz).

Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

135 mm

104 mm

123 mm

87 mm

104 mm

87 mm