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Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500

Portability
56
Imaging
44
Features
56
Overall
48
Olympus E-3 front
 
Pentax Optio RS1500 front
Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
30
Overall
34

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 Key Specs

Olympus E-3
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 890g - 142 x 116 x 75mm
  • Released February 2008
  • Replaced the Olympus E-1
  • Newer Model is Olympus E-5
Pentax RS1500
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-110mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Revealed March 2011
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Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 Overview

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.

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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.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Pentax RS1500

 E-3 RS1500 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Pentax RS1500 over the Olympus E-3

 RS1500 E-3 
RevealedMarch 2011February 2008More recent by 37 months
Screen dimensions2.7"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.2")

Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Pentax RS1500

 E-3 RS1500 
Manual focus Dial exact focusing
Screen resolution230k230kExact same screen resolution
Touch friendly screen Neither contains Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 size comparison

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

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-3
Portrait photography with Pentax RS1500
56
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
low MP (10 megapixels)
35
focusing manually
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
lack of manual exposure
external flash not possible
small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-3
Street photography with Pentax RS1500
69
screen articulates
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
environment proofing
54
environment proofing
no articulating screen
does not have image stabilization
small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-3 Sports photography advice
Pentax RS1500 Sports photography advice
57
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
environment proofing
comes with phase detect AF
slow continuous shooting (5.0 frames/s)
low MP (10 megapixels)
37
decent megapixels (14MP)
supports tracking focus
environment proofing
slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority
does not have image stabilization
small sensor (1/2.3")
no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-3 Travel photography features
Pentax RS1500 Travel photography features
55
environment proofing
flash built-in
selfie friendly screen
lack of Timelapse function
low MP (10MP)
67
environment proofing
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
reasonably wide (28mm)
lack of Timelapse mode
does not offer selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-3 Landscape photography info
Pentax RS1500 Landscape photography info
56
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
environment proofing
screen is somewhat small (2.5 inch)
low MP (10MP)
lack of Timelapse function
40
focusing manually
reasonably wide (28mm)
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
environment proofing
cannot switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
small screen (2.7 inch)
lack of manual exposure
does not have image stabilization
small sensor (1/2.3")
no RAW support
lack of Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-3 Vlogging features
Pentax RS1500 Vlogging features
18
no video shooting
25
reasonably wide (28mm)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
does not have image stabilization
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
lack of microphone support
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Olympus E-3 vs Pentax RS1500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-3 and Pentax RS1500
 Olympus E-3Pentax Optio RS1500
General Information
Company Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus E-3 Pentax Optio RS1500
Type Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Released 2008-02-20 2011-03-16
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 3648 x 2736 4288 x 3216
Highest native ISO 3200 6400
Min native ISO 100 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 11 9
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-110mm (3.9x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focus distance - 1cm
Total lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Type of screen Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen size 2.5" 2.7"
Screen resolution 230 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen tech - TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 4s
Max shutter speed 1/8000s 1/1500s
Continuous shutter rate 5.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 13.00 m 3.90 m
Flash options Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Highest video resolution None 1280x720
Video format - Motion JPEG
Microphone 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 None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 890 gr (1.96 lb) 157 gr (0.35 lb)
Physical dimensions 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.6 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.5 not tested
DXO Low light score 571 not tested
Other
Battery life - 260 pictures
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Battery model - D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots One One
Price at release $670 $150