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Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50 Comparison

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Canon 600D

18 MP | APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) CMOS Sensor

Canon 600D
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Pentax K-50

16 MP | APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm) CMOS Sensor

Pentax K-50
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Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50 Comparison Overview

In this review, we will be comparing 600D and K-50, two Entry-Level DSLR cameras from Canon and Pentax. Both cameras have APS-C sensors but Canon 600D has a 18.0 MP and Pentax K-50 has a 16.0 MP resolution. Canon 600D was introduced to market in March 2011 and Pentax K-50 was launched in November 2013. As you can see, 600D is 2 years older than K-50. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Canon 600D Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-03-31
  • 18MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 6400 ( expands to 12800)
  • Canon EF/EF-S Mount
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder
  • 4 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 570g. 133 x 100 x 80 mm
  • Also known as EOS Rebel T3i / EOS Kiss X5
  • Replaced Canon EOS 550D Compare

Pentax K-50 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2013-11-27
  • 16MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 6 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 650g. 130 x 97 x 71 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Pentax K-30 Compare

Canon 600D was replaced by Canon EOS 650D. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Canon EOS 650D vs Canon EOS 600D (EOS Rebel T3i / EOS Kiss X5)
Canon EOS 650D vs Pentax K-50

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Canon EOS 600D over Pentax K-50
LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
Max Sensor Resolution
18 MP vs 16 MP 12% more pixels
LCD Screen Resolution
1.040k dots vs 921k dots 12% higher resolution screen
Battery Life
440 shots vs 410 shots 30 more frames with a single charge
Weight
570 g vs 650 g 80 g lighter
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Flash Coverage
13.0m vs 12.0m 1m longer range
Flash Sync Port
Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies


Reasons to choose Pentax K-50 over Canon EOS 600D
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Viewfinder Magnification
0.61x vs 0.53x Larger Viewfinder
Max ISO
51.600 vs 6.400 706% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
11 vs 9 2 more focus points
Number of Cross Type Focus Points
9 vs 1 8 more cross type focus points
Viewfinder Coverage
100% vs 95% More accurate viewfinder
Max Mech. Shutter
1/6000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting
6.0fps vs 4.0fps 2 fps faster
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Color Depth
23.7 vs 22.1 higher color depth
Dynamic Range
13.0 vs 11.5 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO
1120 vs 793 better High ISO performance
Sensor Pixel Area
23.14µm2 vs 18.54µm2 24% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing Range
±3 EV vs ±2 EV Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
Optical Viewfinder Type
Pentaprism vs Pentamirror Pentaprism Viewfinders are brighter than Pentamirror type
AF Micro Adjustment (Fine Tune)
Yes vs No Adjust each lens for more accurate focusing

Common Strengths of Canon EOS 600D and Pentax K-50
Built-in Flash
Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Yes (Optical) vs Yes (Optical) Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
AE Bracketing
Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Common Weaknesses of Canon EOS 600D and Pentax K-50
Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Canon 600D has external dimensions of 133 x 100 x 80 mm (5.24 x 3.94 x 3.15″) and weighs 570 g (1.26 lb / 20.11 oz) (including batteries). Pentax K-50 has external dimensions of 130 x 97 x 71 mm (5.12 x 3.82 x 2.8″) and weighs 650 g (1.43 lb / 22.93 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Canon 600D and Pentax K-50. Pentax K-50 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 3mm narrower, 3mm shorter and 9mm thinner than Canon 600D.

Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Canon 600D and Pentax K-50.

Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Canon 600D and Pentax K-50.
Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Canon 600D is 80g lighter than the Pentax K-50 but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since both Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 have the same APS-C sized sensor, their lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will be similar in size and weight.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

600D
K-50
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

600D
K-50
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

Thanks to the weather sealed body of K-50, you can use this camera with more confidence under conditions where there is risk of exposure to water and dust compared to 600D.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Canon 600D and Pentax K-50's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

On the other hand, Canon 600D sports a Fully Articulated screen which you can change the angle and position of the screen almost freely, making it possible to shoot from waist or over the head levels, and especially very useful for shooting selfies and video. Pentax K-50's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to 600D.
Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50: Sensor Comparison

Canon 600D has a 18.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 4 processor. On the other hand, Pentax K-50 has a 16.0MP APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features PRIME M processor.

Below you can see the 600D and K-50 sensor size comparison.

Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 Cameras


As seen above, Pentax K-50 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon 600D. 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

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. Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that K-50 has a better overall score of 79, 14 points higher compared to 600D's score of 65.

Model Overall Color Depth Dynamic Range Low-light ISO
Canon 600D 65 22.1 bits 11.5 Evs 793 ISO
Pentax K-50 79 23.7 bits 13.0 Evs 1120 ISO
Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50 Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Canon 600D has an advantage over Pentax K-50. There are 326 lenses for Canon 600D's Canon EF/EF-S mount, on the other hand there are only 155 lenses for Pentax K-50's Pentax KAF2 lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Pentax K-50 has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. On the other hand, Canon 600D doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 112 lenses for Canon EF/EF-S mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type # of Canon 600D Lenses # of Pentax K-50 Lenses
Standard Zoom 40 22
Standard Prime 19 21
Wideangle Zoom 37 12
Wideangle Prime 49 25
Telephoto Zoom 58 21
Telephoto Prime 43 14
SuperZoom 28 15
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 7 3
Macro Prime 28 14
Perspective Control Prime 16 8
Telephoto Mirror Prime 1 n/a
TOTAL 326 155


Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 to see how these lenses compares:

Fast Standard Zoom Lenses
Model FF Equiv. Weight Weight w/ Cam Length Street Price
Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM Lens Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM
25.5 - 82.5mm 645gr 1215gr 111mm Amazon B&H Photo
Pentax DA 16-50mm F2.8 ED Lens Pentax DA 16-50mm F2.8 ED
24 - 75mm 565gr 1215gr 99mm Amazon B&H Photo
Fast Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses
Model FF Equiv. Weight Weight w/ Cam Length Street Price
Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM Lens Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
75 - 225mm 1350gr 1920gr 198mm Amazon B&H Photo
Pentax DA 50-135mm F2.8 ED Lens Pentax DA 50-135mm F2.8 ED
75 - 202.5mm 685gr 1335gr 136mm Amazon B&H Photo
Fast Normal Prime Equivalent Lenses
Model FF Equiv. Weight Weight w/ Cam Length Street Price
Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC HSM Lens Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC HSM
45mm 435gr 1005gr 63mm Amazon B&H Photo
Pentax FA 31mm F1.8 L Lens Pentax FA 31mm F1.8 L
31mm 345gr 995gr 69mm Amazon B&H Photo
Fast Wideangle Zoom Equivalent Lenses
Model FF Equiv. Weight Weight w/ Cam Length Street Price
Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM Lens Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM
15 - 30mm 520gr 1090gr 88mm Amazon B&H Photo
Pentax 12-24mm F4.0 ED AL Lens Pentax 12-24mm F4.0 ED AL
18 - 36mm 430gr 1080gr 84mm Amazon B&H Photo
24-105mm f4 Equivalent Lenses
Model FF Equiv. Weight Weight w/ Cam Length Street Price
Canon 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens Canon 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM
22.5 - 127.5mm 575gr 1145gr 88mm Amazon B&H Photo
Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM Lens Pentax 17-70mm F4.0 AL SDM
25.5 - 105mm 485gr 1135gr 94mm Amazon B&H Photo
Super-Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses
Model FF Equiv. Weight Weight w/ Cam Length Street Price
Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM
100 - 400mm 1590gr 2160gr 193mm Amazon B&H Photo
Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG HSM Lens Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG HSM
120 - 400mm 1640gr 2290gr 203mm Amazon B&H Photo
What types of Photography are Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Canon 600D for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax K-50 for Portrait Photography

GOOD
Large APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details

Canon 600D for Street Photography

GOOD

Pentax K-50 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Large APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Large Body
Read the details

Canon 600D for Sports Photography

GOOD

Pentax K-50 for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
1 Cross Type Focus sensors
Average Continuous Shooting: 4.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/6000s
9 Cross Type Focus sensors
11 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
Read the details

Canon 600D for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax K-50 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Large APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) sensor
Large Body
570g
Body Thickness 80mm
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
650g
Body Thickness 71mm
Read the details

Canon 600D for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax K-50 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
Large APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Live-view
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details

Canon 600D vs Pentax K-50: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Canon 600D and Pentax K-50, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Canon 600D and Pentax K-50 scores compare:

Canon 600D
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #34 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #253 out of 1223 in all Cameras
Pentax K-50
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #26 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #209 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Pentax K-50 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Canon 600D in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Canon 600D. Otherwise, Pentax K-50 is the better camera overall.

Canon 600D
Canon 600D
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Pentax K-50
Pentax K-50
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Pentax K-50 vs Canon 600D Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Canon EOS 600D Pentax K-50
Brand Canon Pentax
Announced 2011-03-31 2013-11-27
Body Type Compact SLR Compact SLR
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size APS-C APS-C
Dimensions 22.3 x 14.9 mm 23.7 x 15.7 mm
Area 332.27mm2 372.09mm2
Megapixels 18 megapixels 16 megapixels
Max Resolution 5184 x 3456 4928 x 3264
Max Native Light sensitivity 6,400 ISO 51,600 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 12800 ISO -
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 100 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 9 11
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Canon EF/EF-S Pentax KAF2
Number of Available Lenses 326 155
Screen
Type Fully Articulated Fixed type
Size 3" 3"
Resolution 1,040k dots 921k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.53x 0.61x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/4000s 1/6000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization No Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 13.00 m 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync 1/200s 1/180s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 4.0 fps 6.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Eye-Fi Connected None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 570g 650g
Dimensions 133 x 100 x 80mm 130 x 97 x 71mm
Battery Life 440 shots 410 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 65 79
DxO Color Depth 22.1 23.7
DxO Dynamic Range 11.5 13.0
DxO Low Light ISO 793 1120
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