Sony Alpha 6100 vs Pentax K-5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 6100 and the Pentax K-5, 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.

Sony Alpha 6100 was introduced in August 2019 and Pentax K-5 was introduced in December 2010. 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 Sony Alpha 6100 over Pentax K-5.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-5 over Sony Alpha 6100.

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

Sony Alpha 6100 and Pentax K-5 have 3.0" screens with 922k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha 6100 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Pentax K-5 has a Fixed screen Sony Alpha 6100 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

Sony Alpha 6100 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 1,440k dot resolution and Pentax K-5 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. They both have 100% coverage.

Sony Alpha 6100 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 - 32,000 and expands to 100 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Pentax K-5 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 80 - 12,800 and expands to 80 - 25,600 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

Sony Alpha 6100 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Pentax K-5 is equipped with PRIME II processor and can take pictures up to 4928 x 3264 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3936 x 2624, 3072 x 2048, 1728 x 1152 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Sony Alpha 6100 has Sony E lens mount and Pentax K-5 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Pentax K-5

Pentax K-5 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 Sony Alpha 6100

Sony Alpha 6100 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 on Sony Alpha 6100

Sony Alpha 6100 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.

NFC on Sony Alpha 6100

Sony Alpha 6100 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 6100 has a Micro HDMI and Pentax K-5 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 6100 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 420 shots and Pentax K-5 comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 980 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 6100 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Pentax K-5 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 6100 has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 6100, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-5. Sony Alpha 6100 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Pentax K-5 can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 6100 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 425 focusing points and Pentax K-5 has 11 (9 cross-type) focusing points. Sony Alpha 6100 has detection range from -2 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 6100 ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 6100 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-5.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 6.00 m at ISO 100 on Sony Alpha 6100 and 13.00 m at ISO 100 on Pentax K-5. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Sony Alpha 6100 and via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection to Pentax K-5. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 6100 and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-5.

Sony Alpha 6100 body has dimensions of 120 x 67 x 59 mm (4.72 x 2.64 x 2.32") and Pentax K-5 body has dimensions of 131 x 97 x 73 mm (5.16 x 3.82 x 2.87"). Sony Alpha 6100 weighs 396 g (0.87 lb / 13.97 oz) and Pentax K-5 weighs 740 g (1.63 lb / 26.10 oz).

Sony Alpha 6100

Pentax K-5

120 mm

67 mm

131 mm

97 mm

67 mm

97 mm

59 mm

73 mm