Nikon D500 has a
21.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor. On the other hand, Pentax K-S1 has a
20.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Prime MII processor.
Another similarity between these two cameras is that both Pentax K-S1 and Nikon D500 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 D500 and K-S1 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D500 and Pentax K-S1 Cameras
Nikon D500 and Pentax K-S1 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 Nikon D500 and Pentax K-S1 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, D500 has scored 84, 6 points higher than K-S1.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Nikon D500
84
24.1 bits
14.0 Evs
1324 ISO
Pentax K-S1
78
23.5 bits
13.0 Evs
1061 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Nikon D500
or the
Pentax K-S1 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
