Pentax K-500 Comparison Review

The Pentax K-500 is a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera that was revealed to the public in June 2013 and is equipped with an APS-C sensor. It offers a resolution of 16.1 megapixel.

Is the Pentax K-500 a good camera? The K-500 has a Camera Elo of 1719. This rating puts the K-500 among the top 50 percent of all digital single lens reflex cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (APS cameras), the K-500 ranks below average. Based on its within category standings, the camera earns a 3-star performance rating.

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The physical dimensions of the Pentax K-500 relative to a credit card are illustrated in the side-by-side display below. Three successive views from the front, the top, and the rear are shown. All width, height and depth dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Pentax K-500 alongside a set of similar cameras. If you want to review a particular camera pair side-by-side, just move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Body Specifications

#		Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life	Weather Sealing	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Pentax K-500	130 mm	97 mm	71 mm	646 g	710	n	Jun 2013	549	ebay.com
2.		Leica X Vario	133 mm	73 mm	95 mm	680 g	450	n	Jun 2013	2,850	ebay.com
3.		Olympus E-PM2	110 mm	64 mm	34 mm	269 g	360	n	Sep 2012	499	ebay.com
4.		Pentax K-70	126 mm	93 mm	74 mm	688 g	410	Y	Jun 2016	649	ebay.com
5.		Pentax K-S1	121 mm	93 mm	70 mm	558 g	410	n	Aug 2014	749	ebay.com
6.		Pentax K-50	130 mm	97 mm	71 mm	650 g	410	Y	Jun 2013	599	ebay.com
7.		Pentax K-3	131 mm	100 mm	77 mm	800 g	560	Y	Oct 2013	1,299	ebay.com
8.		Pentax K-30	130 mm	97 mm	71 mm	650 g	410	Y	May 2012	849	ebay.com
9.		Pentax K-5 II	131 mm	97 mm	73 mm	760 g	740	Y	Sep 2012	1,099	ebay.com
10.		Pentax K-5	131 mm	97 mm	73 mm	760 g	740	Y	Sep 2010	1,099	ebay.com
11.		Sony A58	129 mm	95 mm	78 mm	492 g	690	n	Feb 2013	599	ebay.com
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as add-on or interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.
Convert to Imperial

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Pentax K-500 was launched in the US market at a price of $549. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Check K-500 offers at
ebay.com

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the sensor inside a digital camera is one of the key determinants of image quality. A large sensor will generally have larger individual pixels that offer better low-light sensitivity, provide wider dynamic range, and have richer color-depth than smaller pixels in a sensor of the same technological generation. Further, a large sensor camera will give the photographer additional creative options when using shallow depth-of-field to isolate a subject from its background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tent to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Pentax K-500 features an APS-C sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 1.5. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Pentax K-500 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

Consistent information on actual sensor performance is available from DXO Mark for most cameras. This service assesses and scores the color depth ("DXO Portrait"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports") of camera sensors, and also publishes an overall camera score. The adjacent table reports on the physical sensor characteristics and the outcomes of the DXO sensor quality tests for a sample of alternative cameras.

Sensor Characteristics

#		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Pentax K-500	APS-C	16.1	4928	3264	1080/30p	23.7	13.1	1087	79
2.		Leica X Vario	APS-C	16.1	4928	3272	1080/30p	23.4	12.7	1320	78
3.		Olympus E-PM2	Four Thirds	15.9	4608	3456	1080/30p	22.7	12.2	932	72
4.		Pentax K-70	APS-C	24.0	6000	4000	1080/60i	23.8	13.1	1639	80
5.		Pentax K-S1	APS-C	20.0	5472	3648	1080/30p	23.5	13.0	1061	78
6.		Pentax K-50	APS-C	16.1	4928	3264	1080/30p	23.7	13.0	1120	79
7.		Pentax K-3	APS-C	24.1	6016	4000	1080/60i	23.7	13.4	1216	80
8.		Pentax K-30	APS-C	16.1	4928	3264	1080/30p	23.7	13.0	1129	79
9.		Pentax K-5 II	APS-C	16.1	4928	3264	1080/25p	23.8	14.1	1235	82
10.		Pentax K-5	APS-C	16.1	4928	3264	1080/25p	23.7	14.1	1162	82
11.		Sony A58	APS-C	19.8	5456	3632	1080/60i	23.3	12.5	753	74
Note: DXO values in italics represent estimates based on sensor size and age.

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but can also record movies. The K-500 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the K-500 can use is 1080/30p.

Feature comparison

Beyond body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. For example, the K-500 has an optical viewfinder that provides a field of view of 100% and a magnification of 0.61x. The tables below summarize some of the other core capabilities of the Pentax K-500 in connection with corresponding information for a sample of similar cameras.

Core Features

#		Camera Model	Viewfinder (Type or 000 dots)	Control Panel (yes/no)	LCD Specifications (inch/000 dots)	LCD Attach- ment	Touch Screen (yes/no)	Max Shutter Speed *	Max Shutter Flaps *	Built-in Flash (yes/no)	Built-in Image Stab
1.		Pentax K-500	optical	n	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/6000s	6.0/s	Y	Y
2.		Leica X Vario	optional	n	3.0 / 920	fixed	n	1/2000s	5.0/s	Y	n
3.		Olympus E-PM2	optional	n	3.0 / 460	fixed	Y	1/4000s	8.0/s	n	Y
4.		Pentax K-70	optical	n	3.0 / 921	swivel	n	1/6000s	6.0/s	Y	Y
5.		Pentax K-S1	optical	n	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/6000s	5.4/s	Y	Y
6.		Pentax K-50	optical	n	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/6000s	6.0/s	Y	Y
7.		Pentax K-3	optical	Y	3.2 / 1037	fixed	n	1/8000s	8.3/s	Y	Y
8.		Pentax K-30	optical	n	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/6000s	6.0/s	Y	Y
9.		Pentax K-5 II	optical	Y	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/8000s	7.0/s	Y	Y
10.		Pentax K-5	optical	Y	3.0 / 921	fixed	n	1/8000s	7.0/s	Y	Y
11.		Sony A58	1440	n	2.7 / 460	tilting	n	1/4000s	5.0/s	Y	Y
Note: *) Information refers to the mechanical shutter, unless the camera only has an electronic one.

One convenient feature of the K-500 is the presence of an on-board flash. While this built-in flash is not very powerful, it can at times be useful as a fill-in light to brighten deep shadow areas.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Pentax K-500 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

Input-Output Connections

#		Camera Model	Hotshoe Port	Internal Mic / Speaker	Microphone Port	Headphone Port	HDMI Port	USB Port	WiFi Support	NFC Support	Bluetooth Support
1.		Pentax K-500	Y	mono / mono	-	-	-	2.0	-	-	-
2.		Leica X Vario	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
3.		Olympus E-PM2	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
4.		Pentax K-70	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	Y	-	-
5.		Pentax K-S1	Y	stereo / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	-	-	-
6.		Pentax K-50	Y	mono / mono	-	-	micro	2.0	-	-	-
7.		Pentax K-3	Y	mono / mono	Y	Y	mini	3.0	-	-	-
8.		Pentax K-30	Y	mono / mono	-	-	-	2.0	-	-	-
9.		Pentax K-5 II	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
10.		Pentax K-5	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-
11.		Sony A58	Y	stereo / mono	Y	-	mini	2.0	-	-	-

Further information on the features and operation of the K-500 can be found in the free online Pentax K-500 Manual or on the Pentax support site.

Expert reviews

While the specs-based evaluation of cameras is instructive in revealing their potential as photographic tools, it remains incomplete and does no justice, for example, to the way the K-500 handle or perform in practice. User reviews, such as those found at amazon, can sometimes inform about these issues, but such feedback is often incomplete, inconsistent, and biased. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The table below summarizes the assessments of some of the best known camera review sites (amateurphotographer [AP], cameralabs [CL], digitalcameraworld [DCW], dpreview [DPR], ephotozine [EPZ], photographyblog [PB]).

Review Scores

#		Camera   Model	AP   score	CL   score	DCW   score	DPR   score	EPZ   score	PB   score	Camera Launch	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price
1.		Pentax K-500	..	..	..	..	4.5/5	4.5/5	Jun 2013	549	ebay.com
2.		Leica X Vario	3/5	..	..	..	4/5	4/5	Jun 2013	2,850	ebay.com
3.		Olympus E-PM2	3/5	..	..	77/100	5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2012	499	ebay.com
4.		Pentax K-70	4.5/5	..	4/5	79/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	Jun 2016	649	ebay.com
5.		Pentax K-S1	4/5	..	..	..	4.5/5	4/5	Aug 2014	749	ebay.com
6.		Pentax K-50	5/5	..	..	..	5/5	4.5/5	Jun 2013	599	ebay.com
7.		Pentax K-3	4/5	..	..	83/100	5/5	5/5	Oct 2013	1,299	ebay.com
8.		Pentax K-30	4/5	..	..	78/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	May 2012	849	ebay.com
9.		Pentax K-5 II	5/5	..	..	80/100	5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2012	1,099	ebay.com
10.		Pentax K-5	4/5	..	..	83/100	5/5	4.5/5	Sep 2010	1,099	ebay.com
11.		Sony A58	3/5	..	..	..	4.5/5	4.5/5	Feb 2013	599	ebay.com
Note: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (..) not available.

The above review scores should be interpreted with care, though. The assessments were made in relation to similar cameras of the same technological generation. Thus, a score needs to be put into the context of the launch date and the launch price of the camera, and comparisons of ratings among very different cameras or across long time periods have little meaning. Also, please note that some of the review sites have changed their methodology and reporting over time.

Check K-500 offers at
ebay.com

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

~

Did you notice an error on this page? If so, please get in touch, so that we can correct the information.

You are here:  Home  »  CAM-parator  »  Pentax K-500 Review