Pentax K-500 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 M5 has a
24.0MP APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Digic 7 processor.
Canon M5's sensor provides 8MP more than Pentax K-500'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-500 and M5 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Pentax K-500 has a 1.1x Larger sensor area than Canon M5. 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-500 and Canon M5 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-500 has scored 79, 2 points higher than M5.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax K-500 |
79 |
23.7 bits |
13.1 Evs |
1087 ISO |
Canon M5 |
77 |
23.4 bits |
12.4 Evs |
1262 ISO |