Pentax K-01 vs Sony a3000 — Which Is Better?

The Pentax K-01 and the Sony a3000 are both mirrorless cameras, released in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The a3000 offers an electronic viewfinder for eye-level shooting, while the K-01 has no viewfinder at all. Their mounts also differ, Pentax KAF against Sony E, so your lens choices largely pick the body.

The a3000 is the lighter carry at 411 g against 561 g for the K-01, a 150 g saving, though it is the physically larger body at 128 x 91 x 85 mm versus 122 x 79 x 58 mm.

The Sony a3000 is the stronger choice for heavy cropping, with 20.1 megapixels against 16.28 on the K-01, roughly 23.5 percent more pixels for trimming a distant bird or stage performer. For action the advantage swings to the K-01, which shoots at 6 fps while the a3000 manages 2.5 fps, and it spreads 81 autofocus points across the frame instead of 25.

Both use APS-C CMOS sensors. The K-01 has in-body stabilisation, which steadies handheld shots at slower shutter speeds, while the a3000 has none. Each starts at a 100 ISO base. The a3000 reaches 16000 ISO natively, against 12800 ISO on the K-01, which extends to 25600 ISO in its expanded range.

The Pentax K-01 is the easier pick for timelapse, offering a built-in timelapse function the a3000 lacks. Full HD is the maximum resolution and 60 fps the top frame rate on each body, so the headline recording limits are shared. The file formats differ, with the K-01 writing MPEG-4 and the a3000 recording AVCHD, so match that to your editing workflow.

The Sony a3000's screen tilts, which helps framing at waist level or over a crowd, while the K-01's display is fixed. The K-01 answers with a much sharper screen, 921,000 dots against 230,400, so playback and manual-focus checks show more detail. The a3000's electronic viewfinder, which the K-01 lacks entirely, gives an eye-level shooting position.

For framing and sharing, both offer live view, Wi-Fi and a 3-inch screen, plus a built-in flash and an external flash shoe. Neither has GPS, touch control, weather sealing or Bluetooth.

The K-01 is rated for 540 shots from its D-LI90 battery, against 470 shots from the a3000's NP-FW50, the higher rating of the pair. Both use a single card slot, and neither charges over USB, so a spare battery and a charger belong in the bag. The a3000 also accepts Memory Stick Pro Duo cards alongside the SD types both cameras support.