Olympus E-3 vs Pentax K-5
56 Imaging
44 Features
56 Overall
48


60 Imaging
56 Features
82 Overall
66
Olympus E-3 vs Pentax K-5 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fully Articulated Display
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Max Shutter
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 890g - 142 x 116 x 75mm
- Revealed February 2008
- Succeeded the Olympus E-1
- New Model is Olympus E-5
(Full Review)
- 16MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 12800 (Expand to 51200)
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Pentax KAF2 Mount
- 740g - 131 x 97 x 73mm
- Released December 2010
- Succeeded the Pentax K-7
- Renewed by Pentax K-5 IIs

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax K-5 Overview
Lets examine more closely at the Olympus E-3 versus Pentax K-5, both Advanced DSLR digital cameras by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There is a considerable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and K-5 (16MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and K-5 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor size.

The E-3 was announced 3 years prior to the K-5 and that is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).
Before going in to a more detailed comparison, below is a simple view of how the E-3 grades versus the K-5 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax K-5 Gallery
Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-3 & Pentax K-5. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Pentax K-5 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Pentax K-5
E-3 | K-5 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Fixed | Fully Articulating screen |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Easy selfies |
Reasons to pick Pentax K-5 over the Olympus E-3
K-5 | E-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | December 2010 | ![]() | February 2008 | More recent by 34 months |
Screen dimension | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.5") |
Screen resolution | 921k | ![]() | 230k | Sharper screen (+691k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Pentax K-5
E-3 | K-5 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | ![]() | More exact focus | ||
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Neither provides Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-3 vs Pentax K-5 Physical Comparison
In case you're planning to lug around your camera frequently, you need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-3 provides outside measurements of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") with a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) and the Pentax K-5 has dimensions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") along with a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs).
Analyze the Olympus E-3 versus Pentax K-5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are using at the time. Here is the front view size comparison of the E-3 against the K-5.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and K-5 is 56 and 60 respectively.

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax K-5 Sensor Comparison
Often, it is very tough to envision the contrast between sensor measurements simply by reading a spec sheet. The visual here may provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-3 and K-5.
As you can see, both cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-3 with its tinier sensor will make achieving bokeh trickier and the Pentax K-5 will deliver extra detail with its extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also help you crop photographs much more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax K-5 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax K-5 Specifications
Olympus E-3 | Pentax K-5 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Make | Olympus | Pentax |
Model type | Olympus E-3 | Pentax K-5 |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Advanced DSLR |
Revealed | 2008-02-20 | 2010-12-18 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Mid-size SLR |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor | TruePic III | Prime II |
Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | APS-C |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 23.7 x 15.7mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 372.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 10MP | 16MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 3:2 |
Full resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4928 x 3264 |
Max native ISO | 3200 | 12800 |
Max boosted ISO | - | 51200 |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 80 |
RAW files | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Autofocus single | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Autofocus center weighted | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detect focus | ||
Contract detect focus | ||
Phase detect focus | ||
Total focus points | 11 | 11 |
Cross type focus points | - | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | Pentax KAF2 |
Available lenses | 45 | 151 |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Fully Articulated | Fixed Type |
Display sizing | 2.5 inches | 3 inches |
Resolution of display | 230 thousand dots | 921 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch screen | ||
Display technology | - | TFT LCD monitor |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | Optical (pentaprism) |
Viewfinder coverage | 100% | 100% |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | 0.61x |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60s | 30s |
Highest shutter speed | 1/8000s | 1/8000s |
Continuous shooting rate | 5.0 frames per sec | 7.0 frames per sec |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Custom white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash distance | 13.00 m | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) |
Flash modes | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, High speed, Rear curtain and Wireless |
External flash | ||
AEB | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Highest flash synchronize | 1/250s | 1/180s |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | - | 1920 x 1080 (25 fps), 1280 x 720 (25, 30 fps), 640 x 424 (25, 30 fps) |
Max video resolution | None | 1920x1080 |
Video format | - | Motion JPEG |
Mic support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | Optional |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 890 gr (1.96 pounds) | 740 gr (1.63 pounds) |
Dimensions | 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") | 131 x 97 x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 56 | 82 |
DXO Color Depth rating | 21.6 | 23.7 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 10.5 | 14.1 |
DXO Low light rating | 571 | 1162 |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 980 photographs |
Style of battery | - | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | - | D-LI90 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds) |
Time lapse feature | ||
Type of storage | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC |
Card slots | Single | Single |
Pricing at launch | $670 | $800 |