Nikon D5500 vs Pentax K-S2
Every published spec side by side, with today's lowest prices for the market you've chosen.
Key differences
- Announced: Feb 2015 on the K-S2, against Jan 2015 on the D5500.
- Resolution: 24.2 MP on the D5500, against 20.1 MP on the K-S2.
- Native ISO: 100–51,200 on the K-S2, against 100–25,600 on the D5500.
- In-body stabilisation: Yes, 3.5 stops on the K-S2, against No on the D5500.
- Burst (mechanical): 5.5 fps on the K-S2, against 5 fps on the D5500.
- Fastest shutter (mech.): 1/6,000s on the K-S2, against 1/4,000s on the D5500.
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price today | Not priced in US yet | Not priced in US yet |
| Overview | ||
| Type | DSLR | DSLR |
| Announced | Jan 2015 | Feb 2015 (best) |
| US launch priceUS list price when announced, body only. Today's prices are in the offers table. | $899.95 | — |
| Lens | Interchangeable | Interchangeable |
| Sensor & image | ||
| Sensor size | APS-C | APS-C |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Resolution | 24.2 MP (best) | 20.1 MP |
| Native ISO | 100–25,600 | 100–51,200 (best) |
| In-body stabilisation | No | Yes, 3.5 stops (best) |
| Speed & autofocus | ||
| Burst (mechanical) | 5 fps | 5.5 fps (best) |
| Burst (electronic) | — | — |
| Fastest shutter (mech.) | 1/4,000s | 1/6,000s (best) |
| Fastest shutter (elec.) | — | — |
| AF pointsMakers count points differently, so this is not ranked. | 39 | 11 |
| Subject detectionMakers group subjects differently (Canon's "animal" includes birds), so only having it is ranked. | Human | — |
| Video | ||
| Max resolution | 1080p | 1080p |
| 4K frame rate | — | — |
| 10-bit internal | No | No |
| Internal raw video | No | No |
| Mic input | Yes (best) | No |
| Headphone jack | No | No |
| Viewfinder & screen | ||
| Viewfinder | Optical | Optical |
| Rear screen | 3.2", 1.04M dots (best) | 3", 0.92M dots |
| Screen articulation | Fully articulating | Fully articulating |
| Touchscreen | Yes (best) | No |
| Body & battery | ||
| Weight (with battery) | 470 g (best) | 678 g |
| Dimensions (W×H×D) | 124 × 97 × 70 mm | 122.5 × 91 × 72.5 mm |
| Weather sealed | No | Yes (best) |
| Battery (CIPA shots) | — | — |
| Card slots | 1 · SD UHS-I | 1 · SD |
| USB-C | No | No |
| Built-in flash | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi / Bluetooth | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
Green marks the better figure where “better” is unambiguous. A dash means the maker doesn't publish it or we haven't verified it yet.
Low light & noise
D5500
3.9 µm pixels
24.2 MP on a aps-c sensor, ISO up to 25,600
K-S2
4.3 µm pixels
20.12 MP on a aps-c sensor, ISO up to 51,200
Bigger pixels gather more light each, so they tend to show less noise at high ISO, but sensor design matters as much. For real noise at ISO 6400, these sites measure it:
- Photons to Photos: dynamic range vs ISO ↗Photographic dynamic range measured at every ISO, bodies on one chart
- Photons to Photos: noise vs ISO ↗Read noise at every ISO from lab tests: lower is cleaner in the shadows
- DPReview studio scene ↗The same scene shot by each camera at the ISO you pick, side by side
- DPReview reviews ↗Full reviews with high-ISO samples
- Low-light video tests ↗Real-world high-ISO footage on YouTube
Size, to scale
Front (width × height)
Top (width × depth)