Sony Alpha 7 III vs Pentax K-5

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 7 III 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 7 III was introduced in February 2018 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 7 III over Pentax K-5.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-5 over Sony Alpha 7 III.

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 7 III and Pentax K-5 have 3.0" screens with 922k dot and 921k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha 7 III 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 7 III 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 7 III has a built-in 0.5" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution and Pentax K-5 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. They both have 100% coverage.

Sony Alpha 7 III features a 24.2 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.8 x 23.8 mm and a total area of 852 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 204,800 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.

Sony Alpha 7 III 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

Sony Alpha 7 III is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 6000 x 3376, 3936 x 2624, 3936 x 2216, 3008 x 1688, 3008 x 2000 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. 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 7 III has Sony E lens mount and Pentax K-5 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sony Alpha 7 III its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to APS-C sensor in Pentax K-5 its crop factor 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

The cameras have a built-in in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (5 stops of compensation in Sony Alpha 7 III). 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 Sony Alpha 7 III

Sony Alpha 7 III 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.

Bluetooth on Sony Alpha 7 III

Sony Alpha 7 III 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 7 III

Sony Alpha 7 III 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 inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 7 III has a Micro HDMI and Pentax K-5 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 7 III comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 610 shots and Pentax K-5 comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 980 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 7 III has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I). Pentax K-5 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 7 III has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7 III, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-5. Sony Alpha 7 III can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Pentax K-5 can shoot continuously up to 7.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 7 III has 693 focusing points and Pentax K-5 has 11 (9 cross-type) focusing points. Sony Alpha 7 III has detection range from -3 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 7 III ranges from -3 to +20 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 Sony Alpha 7 III and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-5.

Flash

Pentax K-5 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. Sony Alpha 7 III has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Sony Alpha 7 III and 1/180 sec on Pentax K-5.

Sony Alpha 7 III body has dimensions of 127 x 96 x 74 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.91") and Pentax K-5 body has dimensions of 131 x 97 x 73 mm (5.16 x 3.82 x 2.87"). Sony Alpha 7 III weighs 650 g (1.43 lb / 22.93 oz) and Pentax K-5 weighs 740 g (1.63 lb / 26.10 oz).

Sony Alpha 7 III

Pentax K-5

127 mm

96 mm

131 mm

97 mm

96 mm

97 mm

74 mm

73 mm