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Olympus E-300 vs Pentax MX-1

Portability
67
Imaging
41
Features
31
Overall
37
Olympus E-300 front
 
Pentax MX-1 front
Portability
84
Imaging
37
Features
60
Overall
46

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax MX-1 Key Specs

Olympus E-300
(Full Review)
  • 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 1.8" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 400 (Increase to 1600)
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 624g - 147 x 85 x 64mm
  • Announced January 2005
  • Additionally Known as EVOLT E-300
  • Successor is Olympus E-330
Pentax MX-1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/1.7" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28-112mm (F1.8-2.5) lens
  • 391g - 122 x 61 x 51mm
  • Announced July 2013
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax MX-1 Overview

Below is a in-depth overview of the Olympus E-300 and Pentax MX-1, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a considerable difference between the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and MX-1 (12MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and MX-1 (1/1.7") boast totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-300 was brought out 9 years before the MX-1 and that is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax MX-1 being a Compact camera.

Before delving right into a full comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-300 grades vs the MX-1 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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

 E-300 MX-1 

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

 MX-1 E-300 
AnnouncedJuly 2013January 2005More recent by 103 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen size3"1.8"Bigger screen (+1.2")
Screen resolution920k134kSharper screen (+786k dot)

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

 E-300 MX-1 
Focus manually Dial precise focusing
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch screen Lacking Touch screen

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax MX-1 Physical Comparison

If you are planning to lug around your camera, you'll need to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-300 provides outside dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") along with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) while the Pentax MX-1 has proportions of 122mm x 61mm x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") having a weight of 391 grams (0.86 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-300 and Pentax MX-1 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the E-300 and the MX-1.

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax MX-1 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-300 and MX-1 is 67 and 84 respectively.

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

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax MX-1 Sensor Comparison

Often, its hard to see the gap between sensor measurements purely by looking at technical specs. The visual underneath may give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-300 and MX-1.

As you have seen, each of the cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-300 because of its bigger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Pentax MX-1 will give you more detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures way more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

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

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

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

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-300 Portrait photography highlights
Pentax MX-1 Portrait photography highlights
48
manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
no liveview feature
sensor resolution low (8 megapixels)
42
manual focus
includes face detect focusing
saves RAW formats
cannot use external flash
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor is small (1/1.7")
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-300 as a Street photography camera
Pentax MX-1 as a Street photography camera
51
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
no articulating screen
lack of image stabilization
low maximum ISO (400)
65
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
saves RAW formats
sensor is small (1/1.7")
heavier than competitors in class (391 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-300 Sports photography features
Pentax MX-1 Sports photography features
37
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect AF
no liveview feature
continuous shooting slow (3.0 frames/s)
lack of image stabilization
sensor resolution low (8 megapixels)
43
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
includes tracking focus
good battery (290 shots)
slow fps (1.0 frames/s)
resolution not great (12MP)
sensor is small (1/1.7")
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-300
Travel photography with Pentax MX-1
45
flash built-in
no Time Lapse mode
sensor resolution low (8MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
61
good battery (290 CIPA)
has built in flash
decently wide (28mm)
great maximum aperture (f1.8)
no Time Lapse mode
heavier than competitors in class (391 grams)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-300
Landscape photography with Pentax MX-1
43
manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
tiny screen (1.8 inches)
no liveview feature
lack of image stabilization
sensor resolution low (8MP)
low maximum ISO (400)
no Time Lapse mode
55
manual focus
decently wide (28mm)
great maximum aperture (f1.8)
nice screen size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
saves RAW formats
good battery (290 per charge)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
resolution not great (12MP)
sensor is small (1/1.7")
no Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-300 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax MX-1 as a Vlogging camera
9
can't shoot video
33
decently wide (28mm)
great maximum aperture (f1.8)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
includes face detect focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
display is not selfie friendly
no mic support
heavier than competitors in class (391 grams)
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Olympus E-300 vs Pentax MX-1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-300 and Pentax MX-1
 Olympus E-300Pentax MX-1
General Information
Company Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus E-300 Pentax MX-1
Otherwise known as EVOLT E-300 -
Category Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2005-01-10 2013-07-01
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/1.7"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 7.44 x 5.58mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 41.5mm²
Sensor resolution 8 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 3264 x 2448 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 400 12800
Max boosted ISO 1600 -
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 3 25
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/1.8-2.5
Macro focusing distance - 1cm
Available lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 4.8
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display size 1.8 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 134k dots 920k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display technology - TFT LCD with AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames/s 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance - 12.00 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Speed sync, Trailing Curtain sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - MPEG-4, H.264
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 624 grams (1.38 lb) 391 grams (0.86 lb)
Physical dimensions 147 x 85 x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") 122 x 61 x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 49
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 20.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 11.3
DXO Low light rating not tested 208
Other
Battery life - 290 photographs
Style of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-Li-106
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II) SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots 1 1
Retail cost $800 $400