Olympus E-420 vs Pentax K-30

Lets examine more in depth at the Olympus E-420 and Pentax K-30, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a considerable gap among the resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and K-30 (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and K-30 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-420 was revealed 5 years earlier than the K-30 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Pentax K-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a simple summation of how the E-420 scores vs the K-30 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-420 & Pentax K-30. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-420 Gallery & Pentax K-30 Gallery.

For anyone who is looking to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-420 has exterior measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") and a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Pentax K-30 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

See the Olympus E-420 and Pentax K-30 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have chosen during that time. Below is the front view measurements comparison of the E-420 versus the K-30.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-420 and K-30 is 77 and 63 respectively.

Typically, it can be tough to see the contrast in sensor measurements purely by going through technical specs. The visual underneath may provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-420 and K-30.

As you can tell, both the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-420 using its smaller sensor will make getting shallow DOF harder and the Pentax K-30 will produce greater detail because of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos much more aggressively. The older E-420 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.