Sony Alpha 7R V vs Pentax ist DL2

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 7R V and the Pentax ist DL2, 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 V was introduced in October 2022 and Pentax ist DL2 was introduced in January 2006. 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 V over Pentax ist DL2.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax ist DL2 over Sony Alpha 7R V.

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 V has a 3.2" Fully Articulated screen with 2,360k dot resolution and Pentax ist DL2 has a 2.5" Fixed screen with 210k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Sony Alpha 7R V selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 7R V 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 7R V has a built-in 0.64" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 9,437k dot resolution and Pentax ist DL2 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. Sony Alpha 7R V has 100% coverage with 0.90x magnification and Pentax ist DL2 has 95% coverage with 0.85x (0.57x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Sony Alpha 7R V features a 61.0 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.7 x 23.8 mm and a total area of 849.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 50 - 102,800 in boosted mode. Pentax ist DL2 features a 6 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 246.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 3,200.

Sony Alpha 7R V 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 7R V is equipped with BIONZ XR processor and can take pictures up to 9504 x 6336 resolution. Pentax ist DL2 can take pictures up to 3008 x 2008 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 2400 x 1600, 1536 x 1024 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Sony Alpha 7R V has Sony E lens mount and Pentax ist DL2 has Pentax K_AF lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sony Alpha 7R V 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 ist DL2 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.

No Low-Pass Filter on Sony Alpha 7R V

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

Sony Alpha 7R V has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 8 stops of compensation. 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 7R V

Sony Alpha 7R V has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, MIMO, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 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 V

Sony Alpha 7R V has a built-in Bluetooth (version 5) 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 7R V comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 600 shots and Pentax ist DL2 comes with 4 x AA battery pack.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 7R V has Dual CFexpress Type A / SD (UHS-II) card slots. Pentax ist DL2 has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 7R V has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7R V, and up to 1/4000 sec on Pentax ist DL2. Sony Alpha 7R V can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps with mechanical shutter and up to 7.0 fps with electronic shutter. Pentax ist DL2 can shoot continuously up to 2.8 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 7R V has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 693 focusing points and Pentax ist DL2 has 5 focusing points. Sony Alpha 7R V has detection range from -4 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 7R V ranges from -3 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 7R V and ±3 EV range on Pentax ist DL2. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 7R V and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax ist DL2.

Flash

Pentax ist DL2 has a built-in flash and also accepts external flash. Sony Alpha 7R V has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or X-Sync Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Sony Alpha 7R V.

Sony Alpha 7R V body has dimensions of 131 x 97 x 82 mm (5.16 x 3.82 x 3.23") and Pentax ist DL2 body has dimensions of 125 x 93 x 66 mm (4.92 x 3.66 x 2.6"). Sony Alpha 7R V weighs 723 g (1.59 lb / 25.50 oz) and Pentax ist DL2 weighs 565 g (1.25 lb / 19.93 oz).

Sony Alpha 7R V

Pentax ist DL2

131 mm

97 mm

125 mm

93 mm

97 mm

93 mm