Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Pentax. There is a substantial difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and RS1500 (14MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and RS1500 (1/2.3") have different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-3 was launched 4 years before the RS1500 and that is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax RS1500 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a in depth comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-3 scores vs the RS1500 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-3 & Pentax Optio RS1500. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Pentax RS1500 Gallery.

If you are intending to lug around your camera, you'll have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-3 has got physical measurements of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") along with a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) and the Pentax RS1500 has sizing of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you use during that time. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the E-3 versus the RS1500.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and RS1500 is 56 and 93 respectively.

Generally, it is tough to visualize the difference between sensor measurements simply by reading a spec sheet. The graphic here may provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-3 and RS1500.

As you can see, each of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-3 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make getting bokeh simpler and the Pentax RS1500 will offer extra detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.