Pentax K-50 has a
16.0MP APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features PRIME M processor. On the other hand, Canon M3 has a
24.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features DIGIC 6 processor.
Canon M3's sensor provides 8MP more than Pentax K-50'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.
Below you can see the K-50 and M3 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Pentax K-50 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon M3. 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-50 and Canon M3 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-50 has scored 79, 7 points higher than M3.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K-50 |
79 |
23.7 bits |
13.0 Evs |
1120 ISO |
Canon M3 |
72 |
22.8 bits |
11.8 Evs |
1169 ISO |