Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1
67 Imaging
41 Features
31 Overall
37


93 Imaging
37 Features
31 Overall
34
Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 8MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 1.8" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Bump to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 624g - 147 x 85 x 64mm
- Released January 2005
- Other Name is EVOLT E-300
- Renewed by Olympus E-330
(Full Review)
- 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 2.7" Fixed Display
- ISO 80 - 6400
- 1280 x 720 video
- 28-140mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
- 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
- Released February 2011

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1 Overview
Let's look much closer at the Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Waterproof by companies Olympus and Pentax. There is a crucial difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and WG-1 (14MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and WG-1 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor size.

The E-300 was launched 7 years before the WG-1 and that is quite a serious gap 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 WG-1 being a Compact camera.
Before diving into a in-depth comparison, here is a quick summary of how the E-300 grades against the WG-1 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1 Gallery
Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-300 and Pentax Optio WG-1. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-300 Gallery and Pentax WG-1 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-300 over the Pentax WG-1
E-300 | WG-1 |
---|
Reasons to pick Pentax WG-1 over the Olympus E-300
WG-1 | E-300 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | February 2011 | ![]() | January 2005 | More recent by 73 months |
Display size | 2.7" | ![]() | 1.8" | Larger display (+0.9") |
Display resolution | 230k | ![]() | 134k | Crisper display (+96k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-300 and Pentax WG-1
E-300 | WG-1 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manually focus | ![]() | More accurate focusing | ||
Display type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed display |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Lacking selfie screen | ||
Touch display | ![]() | Lacking Touch display |
Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1 Physical Comparison
For those who are planning to lug around your camera often, you should consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-300 has outer measurements of 147mm x 85mm x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") with a weight of 624 grams (1.38 lbs) and the Pentax WG-1 has dimensions of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).
Analyze the Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you use at that time. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-300 vs the WG-1.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-300 and WG-1 is 67 and 93 respectively.

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1 Sensor Comparison
Often, it's hard to see the gap between sensor measurements merely by reading through technical specs. The photograph below should provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-300 and WG-1.
As you can tell, each of the cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-300 because of its larger sensor will make achieving bokeh simpler and the Pentax WG-1 will give you more detail utilizing its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images way more aggressively. The older E-300 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.

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


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-300 vs Pentax WG-1 Specifications
Olympus E-300 | Pentax Optio WG-1 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand | Olympus | Pentax |
Model | Olympus E-300 | Pentax Optio WG-1 |
Also called | EVOLT E-300 | - |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Waterproof |
Released | 2005-01-10 | 2011-02-07 |
Body design | Mid-size SLR | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Sensor type | CCD | CCD |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1/2.3" |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 8 megapixels | 14 megapixels |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Highest Possible resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 4288 x 3216 |
Maximum native ISO | 400 | 6400 |
Maximum enhanced ISO | 1600 | - |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 80 |
RAW data | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
Continuous AF | ||
Single AF | ||
Tracking AF | ||
AF selectice | ||
Center weighted AF | ||
AF multi area | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detect AF | ||
Contract detect AF | ||
Phase detect AF | ||
Number of focus points | 3 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mounting type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens focal range | - | 28-140mm (5.0x) |
Max aperture | - | f/3.5-5.5 |
Macro focus distance | - | 1cm |
Total lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display size | 1.8 inches | 2.7 inches |
Display resolution | 134 thousand dot | 230 thousand dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch friendly | ||
Display technology | - | TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | Optical (pentamirror) | None |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 60s | 4s |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/1500s |
Continuous shutter speed | 3.0 frames per second | 1.0 frames per second |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Custom WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash range | - | 3.90 m |
Flash modes | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft |
External flash | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Fastest flash sync | 1/180s | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) |
Maximum video resolution | None | 1280x720 |
Video file format | - | Motion JPEG |
Mic jack | ||
Headphone jack | ||
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 | ||
Environment seal | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 624 grams (1.38 lbs) | 157 grams (0.35 lbs) |
Physical dimensions | 147 x 85 x 64mm (5.8" x 3.3" x 2.5") | 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | not tested |
DXO Low light score | not tested | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 260 images |
Style of battery | - | Battery Pack |
Battery model | - | D-LI92 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Storage media | Compact Flash (Type I or II) | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal |
Storage slots | 1 | 1 |
Retail pricing | $800 | $350 |