Both Pentax K-1 and Nikon D800E have 36.0 MP resolution sensors but Pentax K-1's sensor is Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) and Nikon D800E's sensor is Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ).
Since Nikon D800E's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Pentax K-1.
Another similarity between these two cameras is that both Nikon D800E and Pentax K-1 sensors lack anti-alias (Low-Pass) filters. 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 D800E sensor size comparison.
Pentax K-1 and Nikon D800E have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
At Camera Decision, we also look at Dxo Mark sensors when available as we think it is a good indicator of image quality.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K-1 |
96 |
25.4 bits |
14.6 Evs |
3280 ISO |
Nikon D800E |
96 |
25.6 bits |
14.3 Evs |
2979 ISO |