Sony FX30 vs Pentax K-m

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony FX30 and the Pentax K-m, 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 FX30 was introduced in September 2022 and Pentax K-m was introduced in September 2008. 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 FX30 over Pentax K-m.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-m over Sony FX30.

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 FX30 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 2,360k dot resolution and Pentax K-m has a 2.7" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Sony FX30 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Sony FX30 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.

Optical (pentamirror) Viewfinder on Pentax K-m

Pentax K-m has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. It has a 96% coverage and 0.85x (0.57x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Sony FX30.

Sony FX30 features a 26 megapixel APS-C BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.3 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 363.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Pentax K-m features a 10.0 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 100 - 3,200.

Sony FX30 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 FX30 is equipped with BIONZ XR processor and can take pictures up to 6192 x 4128 resolution. Pentax K-m can take pictures up to 3872 x 2592 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3008 x 2000, 1824 x 1216 with 3:2 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Sony FX30 has Sony E lens mount and Pentax K-m 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

The cameras have a built-in in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (5.5 stops of compensation in Sony FX30). 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 FX30

Sony FX30 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 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 FX30

Sony FX30 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 FX30 comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 570 shots and Pentax K-m comes with 4 x AA battery pack with battery life of 1800 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony FX30 has Dual CFexpress Type A / SD card slots. Pentax K-m has a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Sony FX30 has Electronic Rolling shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sony FX30, and up to 1/4000 sec on Pentax K-m. Sony FX30 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Pentax K-m can shoot continuously up to 3.5 fps.

Focusing

Sony FX30 has 759 focusing points and Pentax K-m has 5 focusing points. Sony FX30 has detection range from -3 to +20 EV.

Flash

Pentax K-m has a built-in flash with maximum range of 11.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash. Sony FX30 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Pentax K-m.

Sony FX30 body has dimensions of 130 x 78 x 85 mm (5.11 x 3.06 x 3.33") and Pentax K-m body has dimensions of 123 x 92 x 68 mm (4.84 x 3.62 x 2.68"). Sony FX30 weighs 646 g (1.42 lb / 22.79 oz) and Pentax K-m weighs 590 g (1.30 lb / 20.81 oz).

Sony FX30

Pentax K-m

130 mm

78 mm

123 mm

92 mm

78 mm

92 mm

85 mm

68 mm