Sony A7S vs Pentax K-30 Comparison

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Sony A7S

12 MP | Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Pentax K-30

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

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Sony A7S vs Pentax K-30 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Sony A7S, which was introduced in April 2014 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 12.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Pentax K-30, which was introduced in October 2012 is a Advanced DSLR camera with a 16.0MP APS-C sensor. There is 17 months difference between A7S and K-30 so we don't expect to see a huge technology difference between these two cameras but it would still give an advantage to younger A7S, especially in sensor tech.

Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious alternatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A7S Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2014-04-06

12MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 409600

Sony E Mount

3 Tilting Screen

2359k dot Electronic viewfinder

5 fps continuous shooting

4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution

120 fps High-Speed Video

Built-in Wireless

489g. 127 x 94 x 48 mm

Weather Sealed Body

Pentax K-30 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2012-10-29

16MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 12800 ( expands to 25600)

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

Sony A7S was replaced by Sony Alpha 7S II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Sony Alpha A7S
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Pentax K-30

Pentax K-30 was replaced by Pentax K-50. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Pentax K-50 vs Pentax K-30
Pentax K-50 vs Sony Alpha A7S

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7S over Pentax K-30

Wireless Connection	Built-In vs None	Better connectivity
LCD Screen	Tilting vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
Viewfinder Magnification	0.71x vs 0.61x	Larger Viewfinder
Max ISO	409.600 vs 12.800	3100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points	25 vs 11	14 more focus points
LCD Screen Resolution	1.230k dots vs 921k dots	33% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter	1/8000s vs 1/6000s	faster mechanical shutter
Weight	489 g vs 650 g	161 g lighter
Microphone Port	Yes vs No	High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port	Yes vs No	better video control
Color Depth	23.9 vs 23.7	higher color depth
Dynamic Range	13.2 vs 13.0	higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO	3702 vs 1129	better High ISO performance
Sensor Pixel Area	71.24µm² vs 23.14µm²	207% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080	Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing Range	±5 EV vs ±2 EV	Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
NFC Connection	Yes vs No	Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Smartphone Remote	Yes vs No	Remote control your camera with a smartphone

Reasons to choose Pentax K-30 over Sony Alpha A7S

Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Built-in Flash	Yes vs No	Useful in low-light
Max Sensor Resolution	16 MP vs 12 MP	33% more pixels
Continuous Shooting	6.0fps vs 5.0fps	1 fps faster
Battery Life	410 shots vs 360 shots	50 more frames with a single charge
Timelapse Recording	Yes vs With optional app	creative shooting

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7S and Pentax K-30

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs Yes	Better for flash photography
Viewfinder	Yes (Electronic) 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
Continuous Shooting	5.0fps vs 6.0fps	Fast shooting speeds
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs Yes	shoot at tough conditions
AE Bracketing	Yes vs Yes	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7S and Pentax K-30

Sony A7S vs Pentax K-30: 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 Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7S has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89″) and weighs 489 g (1.08 lb / 17.25 oz) (including batteries). Pentax K-30 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 Sony A7S and Pentax K-30. Sony A7S is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 3mm narrower, 3mm shorter and 23mm thinner than Pentax K-30.

Comparison image of Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Pentax K-30.

Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony A7S is significantly lighter (161g ) than the Pentax K-30 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

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 Sony A7S has a Full frame sensor and Pentax K-30 has a smaller APS-C sensor, Pentax K-30's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Sony A7S lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

A7S

K-30

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

A7S

K-30

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Both A7S and K-30 have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A7S and Pentax K-30's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.

On the other hand, Sony A7S features a Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Pentax K-30 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7S.

Sony A7S vs Pentax K-30: Sensor Comparison

Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Pentax K-30 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 A7S and K-30 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 Cameras

As seen above, Sony A7S has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Pentax K-30. 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 Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 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, A7S has scored 87, 8 points higher than K-30.

Model	Overall	Color Depth	Dynamic Range	Low-light ISO
Sony A7S	87	23.9 bits	13.2 Evs	3702 ISO
Pentax K-30	79	23.7 bits	13.0 Evs	1129 ISO

Sony A7S vs Pentax K-30 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 Pentax K-30 has an advantage over Sony A7S There are 151 lenses for Pentax K-30's Pentax KAF2 mount, on the other hand there are only 122 lenses for Sony A7S's Sony E lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Pentax K-30 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, Sony A7S doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 30 lenses for Sony E mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type	# of Sony A7S Lenses	# of Pentax K-30 Lenses
Standard Zoom	11 (8 Full Frame)	22
Standard Prime	18 (9 Full Frame)	20
Wideangle Zoom	7 (6 Full Frame)	12
Wideangle Prime	39 (23 Full Frame)	24
Telephoto Zoom	9 (7 Full Frame)	21
Telephoto Prime	18 (14 Full Frame)	12
SuperZoom	8 (1 Full Frame)	15
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	2 (0 Full Frame)	3
Macro Prime	8 (7 Full Frame)	14
Perspective Control Prime	2 (2 Full Frame)	8
Telephoto Mirror Prime	n/a	n/a
TOTAL	122 (77 Full Frame)	151

Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 to see how these lenses compares:

Fast Standard Zoom Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM	24 - 70mm	886gr	1375gr	136mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	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
	Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS	70 - 200mm	1480gr	1969gr	200mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	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
	Sony FE 50mm F1.4	50mm	778gr	1267gr	108mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	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
	Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM	16 - 35mm	680gr	1169gr	122mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	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
	Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS	24 - 105mm	663gr	1152gr	113mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	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
	Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS	100 - 400mm	1395gr	1884gr	205mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG HSM	120 - 400mm	1640gr	2290gr	203mm	Amazon B&H Photo

What types of Photography are Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 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.

Sony A7S for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Pentax K-30 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
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

Sony A7S for Street Photography

GOOD

Pentax K-30 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
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

Sony A7S for Sports Photography

GOOD

Pentax K-30 for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT

Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
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

Sony A7S for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Pentax K-30 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details

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

Sony A7S for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Pentax K-30 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
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

Sony A7S vs Pentax K-30: 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 Sony A7S and Pentax K-30, 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 Sony A7S and Pentax K-30 scores compare:

Sony A7S

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #38 out of 85 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #70 out of 1218 in all Cameras

Pentax K-30

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #41 out of 94 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #211 out of 1218 in all Cameras

Sony A7S is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Pentax K-30 in all criteria. It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money

Pentax K-30 vs Sony A7S Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Sony Alpha A7S	Pentax K-30
Brand	Sony	Pentax
Announced	2014-04-06	2012-10-29
Body Type	SLR-style mirrorless	Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Type	CMOS	CMOS
Size	Full frame	APS-C
Dimensions	35.8 x 23.9 mm	23.7 x 15.7 mm
Area	855.62mm²	372.09mm²
Megapixels	12 megapixels	16 megapixels
Max Resolution	4240 x 2832	4928 x 3264
Max Native Light sensitivity	409,600 ISO	12,800 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	25	11
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Sony E	Pentax KAF2
Number of Available Lenses	122	151
Screen
Type	Tilting	Fixed type
Size	3	3"
Resolution	1,230k dots	921k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Electronic	Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Resolution	2,359k dots	no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage	100%	100%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.71x	0.61x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/8000s	1/6000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	No	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	no built-in flash	12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync	no built-in flash	1/180s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	5.0 fps	6.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	3840 x 2160	1920 x 1080
Video Formats	MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC	MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	Built-In	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	489g	650g
Dimensions	127 x 94 x 48mm	130 x 97 x 71mm
Battery Life	360 shots	410 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording	With Downloadable App
GPS	None	Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	87	79
DxO Color Depth	23.9	23.7
DxO Dynamic Range	13.2	13.0
DxO Low Light ISO	3702	1129
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