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 Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions.
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57. Pentax K-S2 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 9mm narrower, 7mm shorter and 8mm thinner than Sony A57.
Here is the back view size comparison of Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57.
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57.
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Sony A57 is 60g lighter than the Pentax K-S2 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 Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57 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
Thickness Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Weather Sealing
With its weather sealed body, we believe that K-S2 has a big advantage over A57 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".
Pentax K-S2 has a 20.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features PRIME MII processor. On the other hand, Sony A57 has a 16.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .
Another difference between these two cameras is that Pentax K-S2's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moire occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the K-S2 and A57 sensor size comparison.
Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57 have sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Sony A57 has 24% larger pixel area (22.87µm2 vs 18.37µm2) compared to Pentax K-S2, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
In this section, we rank and compare Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57 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.
Pentax K-S2 for Portrait Photography
Sony A57 for Portrait Photography
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
Read the details
Pentax K-S2 for Street Photography
Sony A57 for Street Photography
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details
Pentax K-S2 for Sports Photography
Sony A57 for Sports Photography
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/6000s
11 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.4fps
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 12.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
3 Cross Type Focus sensors
15 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 550 shots
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Pentax K-S2 for Daily Photography
Sony A57 for Daily Photography
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
678g
Body Thickness 73mm
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Large Body
618g
Body Thickness 81mm
Read the details
Pentax K-S2 for Landscape Photography
Sony A57 for Landscape Photography
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 16.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
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 Pentax K-S2 has an advantage over Sony A57. There are 150 lenses for Pentax K-S2's Pentax KAF2 mount, on the other hand there are only 143 lenses for Sony A57's Sony/Minolta Alpha lens mount.
Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Both Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57 has Sensor based Image stabilization which means that all the lenses will be stabilized in these bodies.
| Lens Type |
# of Pentax K-S2 Lenses |
# of Sony A57 Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
22 |
20 |
| Standard Prime |
19 |
9 |
| Wideangle Zoom |
12 |
11 |
| Wideangle Prime |
24 |
18 |
| Telephoto Zoom |
21 |
26 |
| Telephoto Prime |
12 |
12 |
| SuperZoom |
15 |
19 |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
3 |
4 |
| Macro Prime |
14 |
12 |
| Perspective Control Prime |
8 |
10 |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
2 |
| TOTAL |
150 |
143 |
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 Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57, 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 Pentax K-S2 and Sony A57 scores compare:
Pentax K-S2
Ranked
#1 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked
#62 out of 1200 in all Cameras
Sony A57
Ranked
#10 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked
#133 out of 1200 in all Cameras
Pentax K-S2 is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Sony A57 in all criteria. It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money
| General |
Pentax K-S2 |
Sony SLT-A57 |
| Brand |
Pentax |
Sony |
| Announced |
2015-02-10 |
2012-09-13 |
| Body Type |
Compact SLR |
Compact SLR |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
| Size |
APS-C |
APS-C |
| Dimensions |
23.5 x 15.6 mm |
23.5 x 15.6 mm |
| Area |
366.60mm2 |
366.60mm2 |
| Megapixels |
20 megapixels |
16 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5472 x 3648 |
4912 x 3264 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
51,200 ISO |
16,000 ISO |
| Max Boosted Light Sensitivity |
- |
25600 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 |
11 |
15 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Pentax KAF2 |
Sony/Minolta Alpha |
| Number of Available Lenses |
150 |
143 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fully Articulated |
Fully Articulated |
| Size |
3" |
3" |
| Resolution |
921k dots |
921k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Optical (pentaprism) |
Electronic |
| Viewfinder Resolution |
no electronic viewfinder |
1,440k dots |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
100% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.64 |
0.7 |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Shutter Speed |
1/6000s |
1/4000s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
Sensor-shift |
Sensor-shift |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
12.00 m (at ISO 100) |
10.00 m (@ ISO 100) |
| Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
1/160s |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
5.4 fps |
12.0 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, AVCHD, H.264 |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
Eye-Fi Connected |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
678g |
618g |
| Dimensions |
91 x 123 x 73mm |
132 x 98 x 81mm |
| Battery Life |
410 shots |
550 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
Optional |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
75 |
| DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
23.4 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
13.0 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
785 |
|
Report a correction |
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