Pentax K-50 vs. Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Pentax K-50 and Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1. Compare design, sensors, proximity features, memory capacities and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right camera for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the digital camera that will best fit your needs.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Pentax K-50 vs. Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1 Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Product Type Digital camera - 1080p - SLR with Live View mode, movie recording Digital camera - 8K - mirrorless system
Lens Included Body only Body only
Height 9.65 cm 9.69 cm
Width 12.9 cm 12.89 cm
Depth 7 cm 8.08 cm
Weight 590 g 652 g
Weight Details - Camera body only: 652 g
Camera with battery and memory card: 737 g
Body Material Stainless steel, fibre reinforced polycarbonate Magnesium alloy
Enclosure Colour Black | White | Red Black
Protection Weatherproof, freezeproof, dust-resistant -
SENSOR Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Sensor Resolution 16.3 Megapixel 50.1 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type CMOS Exmor RS CMOS
Total Pixels 16,500,000 pixels 50,500,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 16,300,000 pixels 50,100,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size APS-C (23.7 x 15.7 mm) Full Frame (35.9 x 24 mm)
Frame Rate (Max Resolution) - 30 fps
Sensor Dust Reduction Yes Yes
Sensor Features Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration), Special Protect (SP) coating Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration), Anti-Dust coating, APS-C compatible mode
Image Stabiliser Optical (image sensor shift mechanism) Optical (5-axis image sensor shift mechanism)
Built-in Optical Image Stabiliser Yes Yes
PROCESSOR Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Image Processor PRIME M BIONZ XR
LENS Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Lens Mounting Type Pentax KAF2 Sony E-mount
FOCUSING Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Auto Focus TTL contrast and phase detection TTL contrast and phase detection
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 11 759
Auto Focus Features Focus Peaking function Focus Peaking function
AE/AF Control Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF Subject-tracking AF, Eye detection AF, Predictive AI Servo AF, Zone AF
Face Detection Yes Eye Detect AF, Pet Detection
VIEWFINDER Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Viewfinder Type Optical - fixed eye-level pentaprism Built-in - electronic
Viewfinder Colour Support - Colour
Viewfinder Diagonal Size - 0.64"
Viewfinder Resolution - 9,437,184 pixels
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage 100% 100%
Optical Viewfinder Magnification 0.92x 0.9x
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range -2.5 to +1.5 -4 to +3
Field of View Crop Factor - 1.0
Interchangeable Focusing Screens Yes -
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
ISO (Max) 51200 102400
Extended ISO (Max) - 102400
Extended ISO (Min) - 50
Light Sensitivity ISO 100-51200, ISO auto (100-51200) ISO 50, ISO auto, ISO 102400, ISO 100-32000
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, average, highlight-weighted
Exposure Metering Zones 77 1200
Exposure Modes Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, ISO priority, shutter & aperture priority Bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority
Bracketing Modes - Dynamic Range Bracketing, white balance bracketing
Shooting Programs Landscape, portrait mode, macro, museum, surf & snow, PET, Blue Sky, food, night scene, sunset, candle, night snapshot, night scene with portrait, kids, Stage, night scene HDR, moving object, forest, backlight silhouette -
Special Effects Soft, Slim, Pastel, Colour, fisheye, natural, bright, Vibrant, Sketch, monochrome, Muted, landscape, portrait, Water Colour, miniature, Cross Process, Retro, Colour Extract, Toy camera, starburst, High contrast, Colour Invert, Bleach Bypass, Posterisation, Radiant, Reversal Film, Shading, Tone Expansion -
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Cloudy, tungsten light, Flash, daylight, shade, fluorescent light (cool white), fluorescent light (daylight), fluorescent light (warm white), fluorescent light (daylight white) Incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, Flash, daylight, shade, Underwater, 2500K - 9900K
Shutter Type - Electronic, mechanical electronically-controlled
Max Shutter Speed 1/6000 sec 1/32000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 30 sec 30 sec
Exposure Compensation ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 3 steps in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps -
X-sync Speed 1/180 sec 1/200sec, 1/500 sec, 1/400 sec, 1/250sec
Exposure Range EV 0-22 (ISO 100) EV -3-20 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Type 3" LCD display 3" LCD display
Touch Screen - Yes
Display Format 921,000 pixels 1,440,000 pixels
Display Form Factor Built-in Folding
Display Features Display brightness control, display colour control Display brightness control
FLASH Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Camera Flash Pop-up flash -
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) 12 -
Flash Modes Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction, P-TTL -
Red-Eye Reduction Yes -
Features AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control -
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Digital Video Format H.264 H.264, XAVC S, H.265, XAVC HS
Image Recording Format JPEG, DNG (RAW) + JPEG, DNG (RAW) JPEG, RAW, MPF, HEIF
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 7680 x 4320
Audio Signal Format - Linear PCM, AAC
Microphone Operation Mode Mono Stereo
Microphone Features Sensitivity control -
MEMORY Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Memory Card Slot SD card Dual CFexpress / SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDHC UHS-I Memory Card, SDXC UHS-I Memory Card, SDHC UHS-II Memory Card, SDXC UHS-II Memory Card, CFexpress
Memory Card Included - No
Image Storage RAW 4928 x 3264
JPEG 4928 x 3264
JPEG 4224 x 2816
JPEG 3456 x 2304
JPEG 2688 x 1792
8640 x 5760
5616 x 3744
4320 x 2880
5616 x 3744 - APS-C mode
4320 x 2880 - APS-C mode
7680 x 5760
4992 x 3744
3840 x 2880
4992 x 3744 - APS-C mode
3840 x 2880 - APS-C mode
8760 x 4864
5616 x 3160
4320 x 2432
5616 x 3160 - APS-C mode
4320 x 2432 - APS-C mode
5760 x 5760
3744 x 3744
2880 x 2880
3744 x 3744 - APS-C mode
2880 x 2880 - APS-C mode
Video Capture H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 30 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 25 fps
H.264 - 1920 x 1080 - 24 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 60 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 50 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 25 fps
H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 24 fps
H.264 - 640 x 480 - 30 fps
H.264 - 640 x 480 - 25 fps
H.264 - 640 x 480 - 24 fps
XAVC HS - 7680 x 4320 p - 30 fps - 400Mbps
XAVC HS - 7680 x 4320 p - 24 fps - 400Mbps
XAVC HS - 7680 x 4320 p - 25 fps - 400Mbps
XAVC HS - 3840 x 2160 p - 24 - 120 fps
XAVC S - 3840 x 2160 p - 24 - 120 fps
XAVC S - 1920 x 1080 p - 24 - 120 fps
BATTERY AND CHARGING Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Battery Type Pentax D-Li109 Lithium Ion Sony NP-FZ100 Lithium Ion
Details Pentax D-Li109 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included) Sony NP-FZ100 Li-ion rechargeable battery - 2280 mAh (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 480 shots (D-LI109 battery)
Photo shooting - 1250 shots (lithium AA batteries)
Playback - 4.5 hours (D-LI109 battery)
Playback - 9.3 hours (lithium AA batteries)
Photo shooting - 430 shots (LCD Monitor on)
Photo shooting - 530 shots (EVF on)
Video recording - 150 minutes (LCD Monitor on)
Video recording - 145 minutes (EVF on)
CONNECTIONS Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Interface Composite video/audio, USB 2.0 HDMI, USB-C, NFC (Near Field Communication), IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0
Connectivity Features - Remote control via mobile devices, remote live view
Print Standard DPOF support, PRINT Image Matching Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching
Flash Terminal Hot shoe Hot shoe, PC terminal
Connector Type USB 2.0
Composite video/audio output
HDMI output (19 pin micro HDMI Type D)
Microphone (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Headphones (mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm)
Network (RJ-45)
USB / AV output (micro-USB)
USB (USB Type-C)
FEATURES Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Self-Timer Delay 2sec, 12sec 10 sec, 2sec, 5 sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 3 frames per second, 6 frames per second 8 frames per second, 3 frames per second, 20 frames per second, 10 frames per second, 30 frames per second, 6 frames per second, 15 frames per second
Additional Features RGB primary colour filter, digital image rotation, histogram display, cropping an image, resizing an image, Scene Detection Technology, interval shooting mode, Dynamic Range Adjustment, in-camera RAW processing, Chromatic Aberration Compensation (CAC), HDR image enhancement technology, Eye-Fi Card Ready, NR Slow Shutter, High ISO NR, Dual Axis Electronic Level, date stamp, Lens Distortion Correction Built-in speaker, RGB primary colour filter, AE lock, AF lock, interval shooting mode, Dynamic Range Optimizer, USB charging, Chromatic Aberration Compensation (CAC), Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), Clear Image Zoom, noise reduction over long exposures, Lens Distortion Correction, high ISO speed noise reduction, silent shooting, BRAVIA Sync function, PhotoTV HD, GPS via mobile, peripheral shading correction, Flickering Reduction function
OTHERS Pentax K-50 Sony Alpha1 ILCE-1
Included Accessories Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, USB cable, eyecup, shoe cap Battery charger, body cap, shoulder strap, eyecup, shoe cap, cable protector, USB-C to USB-A cable
Software Drivers & Utilities, SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.0 -
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature -10 °C 0 °C
Service & Support - Limited warranty - parts and labour - 1 year
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