Pentax K-70 vs Pentax K-3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K-70 and the Pentax K-3, 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-70 was introduced in June 2016 and Pentax K-3 was introduced in April 2014. 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-70 over Pentax K-3.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-3 over Pentax K-70.

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-70 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 921k dot resolution and Pentax K-3 has a 3.2" Fixed screen with 1,037k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Pentax K-70 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting.

Viewfinder

Cameras have built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinders. They both have 100% coverage and 0.95x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Pentax K-70 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 102,400. Pentax K-3 features a 23.35 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200.

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-70 is equipped with PRIME MII processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 3072, 3072 x 2048, 1920 x 1280 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Pentax K-3 is equipped with PRIME III processor and can take pictures up to 6016 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 3072, 3072 x 2048, 1920 x 1080 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Cameras have 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

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

The cameras have a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (4.5 stops of compensation in Pentax K-70). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are 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-70

Pentax K-70 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Pentax K-70 has a Micro Type D HDMI and Pentax K-3 has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K-70 comes with D-LI109 battery pack with battery life of 410 shots and Pentax K-3 comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 560 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax K-70 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Pentax K-3 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slots.

Shutter

Pentax K-70 has Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plane (electronic when using Pixel Shift Resolution) shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/6000 sec on Pentax K-70, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-3. Pentax K-70 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps. Pentax K-3 can shoot continuously up to 8.3 fps.

Focusing

Pentax K-70 has 11 (9 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax K-3 has 27 (25 cross-type) focusing points. Pentax K-70 has detection range from -3 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Pentax K-70 ranges from 0 to +22 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-70 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-3.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Pentax K-70 and 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Pentax K-3. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Pentax K-70 and via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal or Wireless connection to Pentax K-3. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on both cameras.

Pentax K-70 body has dimensions of 126 x 93 x 74 mm (4.94 x 3.66 x 2.91") and Pentax K-3 body has dimensions of 131 x 100 x 77 mm (5.16 x 3.94 x 3.03"). Pentax K-70 weighs 688 g (1.52 lb / 24.27 oz) and Pentax K-3 weighs 800 g (1.76 lb / 28.22 oz).

Pentax K-70

Pentax K-3

126 mm

93 mm

131 mm

100 mm

93 mm

100 mm

74 mm

77 mm