Olympus E-1 vs Pentax H90

Below, we are looking at the Olympus E-1 and Pentax H90, former is a Pro DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a large difference among the resolutions of the E-1 (5MP) and H90 (12MP) and the E-1 (Four Thirds) and H90 (1/2.3") possess totally different sensor size.

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The E-1 was manufactured 7 years before the H90 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-1 being a Large SLR camera and the Pentax H90 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick summation of how the E-1 scores vs the H90 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-1 & Pentax Optio H90. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-1 Gallery & Pentax H90 Gallery.

If you're going to carry around your camera, you are going to need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-1 provides physical dimensions of 141mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 735 grams (1.62 lbs) whilst the Pentax H90 has sizing of 101mm x 65mm x 28mm (4.0" x 2.6" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 153 grams (0.34 lbs).

See the Olympus E-1 and Pentax H90 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you use at that time. Below is the front view measurements comparison of the E-1 vs the H90.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-1 and H90 is 59 and 93 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is tough to envision the gap in sensor sizes purely by going through a spec sheet. The pic below should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-1 and H90.

Clearly, both cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-1 because of its larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Pentax H90 will show greater detail due to its extra 7MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics much more aggressively. The more aged E-1 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.