Olympus E-3 vs Pentax Q-S1

Below, we are analyzing the Olympus E-3 versus Pentax Q-S1, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. The image resolution of the E-3 (10MP) and the Q-S1 (12MP) is fairly well matched but the E-3 (Four Thirds) and Q-S1 (1/1.7") use totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-3 was released 7 years prior to the Q-S1 which is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax Q-S1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting straight into a thorough comparison, below is a concise view of how the E-3 scores versus the Q-S1 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-3 & Pentax Q-S1. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Pentax Q-S1 Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-3 comes with outside 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 Q-S1 has sizing of 105mm x 58mm x 34mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.3") with a weight of 203 grams (0.45 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-3 versus Pentax Q-S1 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the E-3 vs the Q-S1.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-3 and Q-S1 is 56 and 92 respectively.

Often, its difficult to see the difference between sensor sizes only by reading through specs. The image below should give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-3 and Q-S1.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-3 due to its larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Pentax Q-S1 will resolve extra detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos much more aggressively. The more aged E-3 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.