Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20
56 Imaging
44 Features
56 Overall
48
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90 Imaging
39 Features
35 Overall
37
Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20 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
- Announced February 2008
- Previous Model is Olympus E-1
- Newer Model is Olympus E-5
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 28-560mm (F3.1-4.8) lens
- 235g - 111 x 61 x 38mm
- Announced January 2012
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Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20 Overview
Below, we are comparing the Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Pentax. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and VS20 (16MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and VS20 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor dimensions.
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The E-3 was announced 4 years before the VS20 which is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax VS20 being a Compact camera.
Before getting straight into a thorough comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-3 scores vs the VS20 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.
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Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20 Gallery
Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-3 & Pentax Optio VS20. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Pentax VS20 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Pentax VS20
E-3 | VS20 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Display type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Fixed | Fully Articulating display |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Easy selfies |
Reasons to pick Pentax VS20 over the Olympus E-3
VS20 | E-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Announced | January 2012 | ![]() | February 2008 | More modern by 47 months |
Display dimension | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Larger display (+0.5") |
Display resolution | 460k | ![]() | 230k | Clearer display (+230k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Pentax VS20
E-3 | VS20 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | More precise focus | ||
Touch friendly display | ![]() | Neither features Touch friendly display |
Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20 Physical Comparison
If you're intending to carry around your camera often, you need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-3 enjoys physical dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") having a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) whilst the Pentax VS20 has sizing of 111mm x 61mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.4" x 1.5") along with a weight of 235 grams (0.52 lbs).
Analyze the Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have at that time. Here is the front view over all size comparison of the E-3 compared to the VS20.
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Using size and weight, the portability rating of the E-3 and VS20 is 56 and 90 respectively.
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Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20 Sensor Comparison
Generally, it can be difficult to visualise the difference between sensor sizes merely by reviewing specs. The picture here will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-3 and VS20.
As you can plainly see, both cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-3 having a larger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF less difficult and the Pentax VS20 will offer you greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.
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Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20 Screen and ViewFinder
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Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
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Street Comparison
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Sports Comparison
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Travel Comparison
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Landscape Comparison
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Vlogging Comparison
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Olympus E-3 vs Pentax VS20 Specifications
Olympus E-3 | Pentax Optio VS20 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand | Olympus | Pentax |
Model | Olympus E-3 | Pentax Optio VS20 |
Category | Advanced DSLR | Small Sensor Superzoom |
Announced | 2008-02-20 | 2012-01-25 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor Chip | TruePic III | - |
Sensor type | CMOS | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.08 x 4.56mm |
Sensor area | 224.9mm² | 27.7mm² |
Sensor resolution | 10 megapixel | 16 megapixel |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9 |
Maximum resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 4608 x 3456 |
Maximum native ISO | 3200 | 6400 |
Minimum native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW pictures | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focus | ||
AF touch | ||
AF continuous | ||
Single AF | ||
AF tracking | ||
Selective AF | ||
AF center weighted | ||
Multi area AF | ||
AF live view | ||
Face detect focusing | ||
Contract detect focusing | ||
Phase detect focusing | ||
Number of focus points | 11 | 3 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens focal range | - | 28-560mm (20.0x) |
Highest aperture | - | f/3.1-4.8 |
Macro focus range | - | 3cm |
Total lenses | 45 | - |
Focal length multiplier | 2.1 | 5.9 |
Screen | ||
Type of display | Fully Articulated | Fixed Type |
Display size | 2.5 inch | 3 inch |
Resolution of display | 230 thousand dots | 460 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch functionality | ||
Display technology | - | TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentaprism) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 100% | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | - |
Features | ||
Slowest shutter speed | 60s | 4s |
Maximum shutter speed | 1/8000s | 1/2500s |
Continuous shooting rate | 5.0fps | 1.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Set WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash range | 13.00 m | 2.80 m |
Flash options | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft |
External flash | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Maximum flash synchronize | 1/250s | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) |
Maximum video resolution | None | 1280x720 |
Video data format | - | Motion JPEG |
Mic support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Eye-Fi Connected |
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 lbs) | 235 gr (0.52 lbs) |
Dimensions | 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") | 111 x 61 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.4" x 1.5") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around 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 model | - | D-LI122 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse recording | ||
Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Card slots | One | One |
Retail cost | $670 | $106 |