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Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18

Portability
60
Imaging
47
Features
54
Overall
49
Olympus E-30 front
 
Pentax Optio RZ18 front
Portability
92
Imaging
39
Features
37
Overall
38

Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 Key Specs

Olympus E-30
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 695g - 142 x 108 x 75mm
  • Introduced March 2009
Pentax RZ18
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-450mm (F3.5-5.9) lens
  • 178g - 97 x 61 x 33mm
  • Introduced September 2011
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Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 Overview

Its time to look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-30 and Pentax RZ18, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Pentax. There is a noticeable difference among the resolutions of the E-30 (12MP) and RZ18 (16MP) and the E-30 (Four Thirds) and RZ18 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-30 was manufactured 3 years prior to the RZ18 which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax RZ18 being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a detailed comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-30 grades against the RZ18 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-30 over the Pentax RZ18

 E-30 RZ18 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Pentax RZ18 over the Olympus E-30

 RZ18 E-30 
IntroducedSeptember 2011March 2009Newer by 30 months
Screen dimensions3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kSharper screen (+230k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-30 and Pentax RZ18

 E-30 RZ18 
Manual focus More exact focusing
Touch screen Missing Touch screen

Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 Physical Comparison

When you are going to travel with your camera regularly, you will need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-30 provides physical dimensions of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") along with a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) while the Pentax RZ18 has sizing of 97mm x 61mm x 33mm (3.8" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 178 grams (0.39 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-30 and Pentax RZ18 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you choose during that time. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-30 compared to the RZ18.

Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-30 and RZ18 is 60 and 92 respectively.

Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it's tough to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by going through technical specs. The picture underneath might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-30 and RZ18.

As you have seen, both cameras have different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-30 due to its bigger sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Pentax RZ18 will produce greater detail due to its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-30 will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-30 Portrait photography information
Pentax RZ18 Portrait photography information
60
manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
includes face detect focusing
saves RAW files
low resolution (12MP)
36
focusing manually
good megapixels (16MP)
lack of manual mode
external flash not possible
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-30 Street photography information
Pentax RZ18 Street photography information
72
fully articulated screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
65
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
weather sealing
lighter than competition in class (178 grams)
fixed screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-30 Sports photography information
Pentax RZ18 Sports photography information
52
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect AF
low frames per second (5.0 fps)
low resolution (12MP)
bad battery (750 CIPA)
47
incredible zoom range (25-450mm 18.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
provides tracking focus
weather sealing
slow frames per second (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-30 Travel photography factors
Pentax RZ18 Travel photography factors
49
has built in flash
display is selfie friendly
missing Timelapse recording
bad battery (750 shots)
low resolution (12 megapixels)
71
lighter than competition in class (178 grams)
weather sealing
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
relatively wide (25mm)
very long zoom (450mm)
missing Timelapse function
doesn't have selfie friendly display
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-30 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax RZ18 as a Landscape photography camera
52
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
screen is small (2.7 inch)
low resolution (12 megapixels)
bad battery (750 shots)
missing Timelapse recording
49
focusing manually
relatively wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
weather sealing
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
lack of manual mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
missing Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-30
Vlogging with Pentax RZ18
18
no video recording
30
relatively wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition in class (178g)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
missing microphone port
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Olympus E-30 vs Pentax RZ18 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-30 and Pentax RZ18
 Olympus E-30Pentax Optio RZ18
General Information
Make Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus E-30 Pentax Optio RZ18
Type Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2009-03-24 2011-09-12
Body design Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic III+ -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4032 x 3024 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 3200 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points 11 9
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-450mm (18.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.5-5.9
Macro focus range - 4cm
Available lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Display size 2.7 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 230 thousand dot 460 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech HyperCrystal II LCD TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 98% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.56x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 5.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 13.00 m 2.80 m
Flash settings Auto, Manual, Fill, Red-eye reduction, Slow sync with red-eye reduction, Slow sync, Slow sync 2nd curtain, Off Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
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 data format - Motion JPEG
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
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
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 695 grams (1.53 lbs) 178 grams (0.39 lbs)
Physical dimensions 142 x 108 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") 97 x 61 x 33mm (3.8" x 2.4" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.3 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 530 not tested
Other
Battery life 750 photos -
Battery form Battery Pack -
Battery model BLM-1 D-LI92
Self timer Yes (12 or 2 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II) / xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots 1 1
Price at launch $1,299 $210