Sony Alpha 7R III vs Pentax MX-1

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 7R III and the Pentax MX-1, 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 7R III was introduced in October 2017 and Pentax MX-1 was introduced in July 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 Sony Alpha 7R III over Pentax MX-1.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax MX-1 over Sony Alpha 7R 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 7R III and Pentax MX-1 have 3.0" Tilting screens with 1,440k dot and 920k dot resolutions respectively. Tilting screen makes cameras very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 7R 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.

Electronic Viewfinder on Sony Alpha 7R III

Sony Alpha 7R III has a built-in 0.5" Electronic viewfinder with 3,686k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.78x magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Pentax MX-1.

Sony Alpha 7R III features a 42.4 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 861.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Pentax MX-1 features a 12 megapixel 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor with dimensions of 7.44 x 5.58 mm and a total area of 31.1 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 12,800.

Sony Alpha 7R 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.

Sony Alpha 7R III is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 7952 x 5304 resolution. Pentax MX-1 can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3984 x 2656, 3968 x 2232, 3072 x 2304, 3072 x 2048, 3072 x 1728, 2592 x 1728, 2560 x 1440, 2048 x 1152 with 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

No Low-Pass Filter on Sony Alpha 7R III

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Sony Alpha 7R III. 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 Sony Alpha 7R III). On Sony Alpha 7R III 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 Sony Alpha 7R III

Sony Alpha 7R III 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 7R III

Sony Alpha 7R 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 7R III

Sony Alpha 7R 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 7R III has a Micro HDMI and Pentax MX-1 has a Type D Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 7R III comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 650 shots and Pentax MX-1 comes with D-Li-106 battery pack with battery life of 290 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 7R 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 MX-1 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 7R III has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7R III, and up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax MX-1. Sony Alpha 7R III can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Pentax MX-1 can shoot continuously up to 1.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 7R III has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 425 focusing points and Pentax MX-1 has 25 focusing points. Sony Alpha 7R III has detection range from -2 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 7R III ranges from -3 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 7R III and ±2 range on Pentax MX-1. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 7R III and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax MX-1.

Flash

Pentax MX-1 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m. Sony Alpha 7R III has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Sony Alpha 7R III.

Sony Alpha 7R III body has dimensions of 127 x 96 x 74 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.91") and Pentax MX-1 body has dimensions of 122 x 61 x 51 mm (4.8 x 2.4 x 2.01"). Sony Alpha 7R III weighs 657 g (1.45 lb / 23.17 oz) and Pentax MX-1 weighs 391 g (0.86 lb / 13.79 oz).

Sony Alpha 7R III

Pentax MX-1

127 mm

96 mm

122 mm

61 mm

74 mm

51 mm