Olympus E-300 vs Pentax Q

On this page, we are analyzing the Olympus E-300 and Pentax Q, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap among the image resolutions of the E-300 (8MP) and Q (12MP) and the E-300 (Four Thirds) and Q (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-300 was unveiled 7 years earlier than the Q and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-300 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax Q being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving right into a in-depth comparison, here is a short introduction of how the E-300 scores vs the Q when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-300 & Pentax Q. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-300 Gallery & Pentax Q Gallery.

In case you're going to carry your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-300 provides outside 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 Q has dimensions of 98mm x 57mm x 31mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.2") along with a weight of 180 grams (0.40 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-300 and Pentax Q in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have at the time. Below is a front view sizing comparison of the E-300 versus the Q.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-300 and Q is 67 and 93 respectively.

Quite often, it's difficult to envision the difference in sensor sizing purely by seeing technical specs. The graphic underneath will help provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-300 and Q.

As you have seen, each of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-300 using its larger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF less difficult and the Pentax Q will produce greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics more aggressively. The older E-300 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.