Pentax K-3 has a
24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Prime III processor. On the other hand, Samsung NX1 has a
28.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features DRIMe 5 processor.
Another similarity between these two cameras is that both Samsung NX1 and Pentax K-3 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-3 and NX1 sensor size comparison.
Pentax K-3 and Samsung NX1 have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the same focal length and aperture.
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-3 and Samsung NX1 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that NX1 has a better overall score of 83, 3 points higher compared to K-3's score of 80.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K-3 |
80 |
23.7 bits |
13.4 Evs |
1216 ISO |
Samsung NX1 |
83 |
24.2 bits |
13.2 Evs |
1363 ISO |