Pentax K-500 vs Leica CL

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K-500 and the Leica CL, 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-500 was introduced in November 2013 and Leica CL was introduced in November 2017. 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-500 over Leica CL.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Leica CL over Pentax K-500.

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-500 and Leica CL have 3.0" Fixed screens with 921k dot and 1,040k dot resolutions respectively. Leica CL also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Leica CL) 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-500 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderLeica CL has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

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 372.1 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,600. Leica CL features a 24.24 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.6 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 246.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 50,000.

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

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. Leica CL is equipped with Maestro II processor and can take pictures up to 6014 x 4014 resolution.

Lens Mount

Pentax K-500 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount and Leica CL has Leica TL 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.

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 Leica CL

Leica CL has a built-in Wi-Fi 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.

USB Inputs

Pentax K-500 has a USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) input for data transfer.

Battery

Pentax K-500 comes with 4 x AA battery pack with battery life of 710 shots and Leica CL comes with BP-DC12 battery pack with battery life of 220 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax K-500 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Leica CL has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slot.

Shutter

Leica CL has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/6000 sec on Pentax K-500, and up to 1/25000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Leica CL. Pentax K-500 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps. Leica CL can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

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. Leica CL 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 both cameras.

Pentax K-500 body has dimensions of 130 x 97 x 71 mm (5.12 x 3.82 x 2.8") and Leica CL body has dimensions of 131 x 78 x 45 mm (5.16 x 3.07 x 1.77"). Pentax K-500 weighs 646 g (1.42 lb / 22.79 oz) and Leica CL weighs 403 g (0.89 lb / 14.22 oz).

Pentax K-500

Leica CL

130 mm

97 mm

131 mm

78 mm

97 mm

78 mm

71 mm

45 mm