Pentax K-5 IIs has a
16.0MP APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Prime II processor. On the other hand, Canon M6 has a
24.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 7 processor.
Canon M6's sensor provides 8MP more than Pentax K-5 IIs'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-5 IIs'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-5 IIs and M6 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Pentax K-5 IIs has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon M6. 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-5 IIs and Canon M6 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-5 IIs has scored 82, 4 points higher than M6.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K-5 IIs |
82 |
23.9 bits |
14.1 Evs |
1208 ISO |
Canon M6 |
78 |
23.4 bits |
12.6 Evs |
1317 ISO |