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Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1

Portability
67
Imaging
41
Features
31
Overall
37
Olympus E-300 front
 
Pentax K-1 front
Portability
55
Imaging
76
Features
82
Overall
78

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 Key Specs

Olympus E-300
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 1.8" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Boost to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 624g - 147 x 85 x 64mm
  • Revealed January 2005
  • Also Known as EVOLT E-300
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-330
Pentax K-1
(Full Review)
  • 36MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3.2" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 204800
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 1010g - 137 x 110 x 86mm
  • Launched February 2016
  • Updated by Pentax K-1 II
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Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 Overview

Lets look more closely at the Olympus E-300 versus Pentax K-1, both Advanced DSLR digital cameras by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and K-1 (36MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and K-1 (Full frame) offer totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-300 was manufactured 12 years before the K-1 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature the same body design (Mid-size SLR).

Before we go into a complete comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the E-300 scores against the K-1 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-300 over the Pentax K-1

 E-300 K-1 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-1 over the Olympus E-300

 K-1 E-300 
LaunchedFebruary 2016January 2005Fresher by 135 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display size3.2"1.8"Larger display (+1.4")
Display resolution1037k134kSharper display (+903k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-300 and Pentax K-1

 E-300 K-1 
Focus manually Very accurate focusing
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither comes with Touch friendly display

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 Physical Comparison

When you are looking to carry your camera, you're going to have to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-300 comes with exterior dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") accompanied by a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-1 has sizing of 137mm x 110mm x 86mm (5.4" x 4.3" x 3.4") having a weight of 1010 grams (2.23 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-300 versus Pentax K-1 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use at that time. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-300 against the K-1.

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-300 and K-1 is 67 and 55 respectively.

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its hard to envision the gap between sensor sizing purely by reading through specs. The graphic here might provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-300 and K-1.

As you can plainly see, both cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-300 featuring a tinier sensor will make getting shallower DOF tougher and the Pentax K-1 will resolve greater detail due to its extra 28MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos way more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be behind in sensor tech.

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-300
Portrait photography with Pentax K-1
48
manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
does not have liveview
sensor resolution not great (8MP)
85
has manual focus
great megapixels (36 megapixels)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
supports face detect autofocus
supports RAW formats
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Olympus E-300 Street photography features
Pentax K-1 Street photography features
51
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
screen does not articulate
no image stabilization
low max ISO (400)
70
screen articulates fully
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
supports RAW formats
weather sealing
good ISO range (204,800)
heavier than competition in class (1,010 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-300 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax K-1 as a Sports photography camera
37
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect AF
does not have liveview
max frames per second low (3.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (8MP)
76
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
great megapixels (36 megapixels)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
supports tracking focus
weather sealing
comes with phase detect autofocus
low fps (4.4 frames/s)
low battery pack (760 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-300 Travel photography info
Pentax K-1 Travel photography info
45
flash built-in
no Time Lapse function
sensor resolution not great (8MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
53
weather sealing
great megapixels (36MP)
low battery pack (760 shots)
heavier than competition in class (1,010g)
does not feature selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-300 Landscape photography info
Pentax K-1 Landscape photography info
43
manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
small screen (1.8 inch)
does not have liveview
no image stabilization
sensor resolution not great (8 megapixels)
low max ISO (400)
no Time Lapse function
81
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3.2")
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
great megapixels (36MP)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
does not have anti-alias filter
good ISO range (204,800)
supports RAW formats
weather sealing
has dual storage slots
low battery pack (760 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-300
Vlogging with Pentax K-1
9
lack of video recording
31
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
supports face detect autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does have mic jack
does not feature selfie friendly display
heavier than competition in class (1,010 grams)
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Olympus E-300 vs Pentax K-1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-300 and Pentax K-1
 Olympus E-300Pentax K-1
General Information
Company Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus E-300 Pentax K-1
Also called as EVOLT E-300 -
Type Advanced DSLR Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2005-01-10 2016-02-17
Body design Mid-size SLR Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds Full frame
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 35.9 x 24mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 861.6mm²
Sensor resolution 8MP 36MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2
Peak resolution 3264 x 2448 7360 x 4912
Highest native ISO 400 204800
Highest enhanced ISO 1600 -
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 3 33
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Available lenses 45 151
Crop factor 2.1 1
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Display size 1.8" 3.2"
Resolution of display 134 thousand dot 1,037 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 3.0 frames per second 4.4 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance - no built-in flash
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, Wireless sync
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash sync 1/180 secs 1/200 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Built-in
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 624 gr (1.38 lb) 1010 gr (2.23 lb)
Physical dimensions 147 x 85 x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") 137 x 110 x 86mm (5.4" x 4.3" x 3.4")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 96
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 25.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 14.6
DXO Low light rating not tested 3280
Other
Battery life - 760 pictures
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom)
Time lapse feature
Storage media Compact Flash (Type I or II) Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I)
Storage slots One Two
Retail price $800 $1,499