Olympus E-400 vs Pentax Q10

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-400 versus Pentax Q10, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Pentax. The resolution of the E-400 (10MP) and the Q10 (12MP) is relatively well matched but the E-400 (Four Thirds) and Q10 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-400 was announced 7 years before the Q10 and that is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Pentax Q10 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going right into a thorough comparison, here is a quick view of how the E-400 grades against the Q10 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-400 and Pentax Q10. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-400 Gallery and Pentax Q10 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera often, you will have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-400 has outside measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") with a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) while the Pentax Q10 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 34mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.3") having a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

See the Olympus E-400 versus Pentax Q10 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are utilising during that time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the E-400 against the Q10.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-400 and Q10 is 77 and 92 respectively.

Generally, it is difficult to picture the difference between sensor measurements only by reading through a spec sheet. The visual below might offer you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-400 and Q10.

Clearly, each of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-400 with its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field easier and the Pentax Q10 will resolve greater detail with its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures more aggressively. The older E-400 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.