Pentax K-1 has a
36.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Sony A7R III has a
42.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor.
Sony A7R III's sensor provides 6MP more than Pentax K-1'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 similarity between these two cameras is that both Sony A7R III 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 A7R III sensor size comparison.
Pentax K-1 and Sony A7R III 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. On the other hand, since Pentax K-1 has 16% larger pixel area compared to Sony A7R III, it has potential to collect more light on pixel level hence have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It 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. Pentax K-1 and Sony A7R III sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A7R III has a better overall score of 100, 4 points higher compared to K-1's score of 96.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K-1 |
96 |
25.4 bits |
14.6 Evs |
3280 ISO |
Sony A7R III |
100 |
26.0 bits |
14.7 Evs |
3523 ISO |