Olympus E-30 vs Pentax S1

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-30 versus Pentax S1, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. The resolution of the E-30 (12MP) and the S1 (14MP) is very close but the E-30 (Four Thirds) and S1 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor sizes.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The E-30 was unveiled 23 months earlier than the S1 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax S1 being a Compact camera.

Before we go in to a more detailed comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-30 grades vs the S1 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-30 & Pentax Optio S1. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-30 Gallery & Pentax S1 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-30 has outer dimensions of 142mm x 108mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.3" x 3.0") having a weight of 695 grams (1.53 lbs) and the Pentax S1 has sizing of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") and a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-30 versus Pentax S1 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you select at the time. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the E-30 versus the S1.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-30 and S1 is 60 and 93 respectively.

Normally, it is hard to visualise the contrast in sensor measurements just by researching specs. The photograph here will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-30 and S1.

All in all, both of these cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-30 having a larger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Pentax S1 will result in extra detail having an extra 2MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images a little more aggressively. The older E-30 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.