Pentax K-1 has a
36.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Nikon D40 has a
6.0MP APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm ) sized CCD sensor .
Pentax K-1's sensor provides 30MP more than Nikon D40's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Pentax K-1's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the K-1 and D40 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Pentax K-1 has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Nikon D40. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Pentax K-1 and Nikon D40 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, K-1 has scored 96, 40 points higher than D40.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K-1 |
96 |
25.4 bits |
14.6 Evs |
3280 ISO |
Nikon D40 |
56 |
21.0 bits |
11.0 Evs |
561 ISO |