Olympus E-420 vs Pentax K20D

Following is a thorough overview of the Olympus E-420 and Pentax K20D, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and K20D (15MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and K20D (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-420 was introduced very close to the K20D which means that they are of a similar age. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Pentax K20D being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving through a complete comparison, below is a simple overview of how the E-420 scores against the K20D in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-420 & Pentax K20D. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-420 Gallery & Pentax K20D Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to carry around your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-420 provides physical measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Pentax K20D has sizing of 142mm x 101mm x 70mm (5.6" x 4.0" x 2.8") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-420 and Pentax K20D in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-420 vs the K20D.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-420 and K20D is 77 and 59 respectively.

Quite often, it's difficult to see the gap in sensor sizes only by going through a spec sheet. The image below will help give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the E-420 and K20D.

As you can see, the 2 cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-420 having a smaller sensor will make achieving shallow DOF more challenging and the Pentax K20D will produce greater detail using its extra 5MP. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures a little more aggressively.