Pentax MX-1 has a
12.0MP 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Sony RX100 III has a
20.0MP 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor.
Sony RX100 III's sensor provides 8MP more than Pentax MX-1'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 MX-1 and RX100 III sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Sony RX100 III has a 2.8x Larger sensor area than Pentax MX-1. 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. Pentax MX-1 and Sony RX100 III sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that RX100 III has a better overall score of 67, 18 points higher compared to MX-1's score of 49.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Pentax MX-1 |
49 |
20.4 bits |
11.3 Evs |
208 ISO |
Sony RX100 III |
67 |
22.4 bits |
12.3 Evs |
495 ISO |