Samsung NX500 has a
28.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features DRIMe 5 processor. On the other hand, Pentax K-3 has a
24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Prime III processor.
Another similarity between these two cameras is that both Pentax K-3 and Samsung NX500 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 NX500 and K-3 sensor size comparison.
Samsung NX500 and Pentax K-3 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
Both Samsung NX500 and Pentax K-3 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, NX500 has scored 87, 7 points higher than K-3.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Samsung NX500 |
87 |
24.8 bits |
13.9 Evs |
1379 ISO |
Pentax K-3 |
80 |
23.7 bits |
13.4 Evs |
1216 ISO |