Olympus E-300 vs Pentax E85

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-300 vs Pentax E85, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a big gap between the resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and E85 (12MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and E85 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-300 was unveiled 5 years earlier than the E85 and that is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax E85 being a Compact camera.

Before we go right into a complete comparison, here is a simple overview of how the E-300 scores against the E85 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-300 and Pentax Optio E85. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-300 Gallery and Pentax E85 Gallery.

For those who are looking to carry your camera often, you'll need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-300 has got external dimensions of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) while the Pentax E85 has dimensions of 93mm x 58mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.3" x 0.9") with a weight of 145 grams (0.32 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-300 vs Pentax E85 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are employing at the time. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the E-300 against the E85.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-300 and E85 is 67 and 95 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to visualise the gap between sensor sizing simply by checking technical specs. The graphic below should offer you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-300 and E85.

As you can tell, both of those cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-300 having a larger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Pentax E85 will give you more detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution will enable you to crop pics way more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.