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Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
36
Overall
40
Olympus E-420 front
 
Pentax Optio S1 front
Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
31
Overall
34

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 Key Specs

Olympus E-420
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 426g - 130 x 91 x 53mm
  • Revealed June 2008
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-410
Pentax S1
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Introduced March 2011
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 Overview

The following is a in-depth review of the Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a big gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and S1 (14MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and S1 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor size.

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The E-420 was revealed 3 years before the S1 which is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Pentax S1 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a thorough comparison, here is a simple summation of how the E-420 grades vs the S1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-420 over the Pentax S1

 E-420 S1 

Reasons to pick Pentax S1 over the Olympus E-420

 S1 E-420 
IntroducedMarch 2011June 2008Newer by 32 months

Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Pentax S1

 E-420 S1 
Manually focus More precise focus
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen dimensions2.7"2.7"Equal screen size
Screen resolution230k230kSame screen resolution
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch screen Lack of Touch screen

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 Physical Comparison

In case you're looking to travel with your camera, you have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-420 comes with external 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) while the Pentax S1 has proportions of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Below is a front view measurement comparison of the E-420 compared to the S1.

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-420 and S1 is 77 and 93 respectively.

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is very tough to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions just by reading through technical specs. The image here will help provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-420 and S1.

As you have seen, both of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-420 having a bigger sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Pentax S1 will give more detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs more aggressively. The more aged E-420 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-420 Portrait photography highlights
Pentax S1 Portrait photography highlights
56
has manual focus
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
MP count low (10MP)
35
you can focus manually
MP count good (14MP)
no manual control
can't use external flash
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Street photography camera
Pentax S1 as a Street photography camera
64
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
lighter than others in class (426g)
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
56
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
screen does not articulate
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-420 Sports photography highlights
Pentax S1 Sports photography highlights
38
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect auto focus
max frames per second low (4.0 frames per second)
does not have image stabilization
MP count low (10 megapixels)
bad battery life (500 CIPA)
39
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
features tracking focus
very slow continuous shooting (1.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-420 Travel photography details
Pentax S1 Travel photography details
52
lighter than others in class (426 grams)
flash built-in
missing Timelapse recording
bad battery life (500 per charge)
MP count low (10 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
64
MP count good (14MP)
has built in flash
decently wide (28mm)
lack of Timelapse mode
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-420 Landscape photography info
Pentax S1 Landscape photography info
47
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
screen is small (2.7 inches)
does not have image stabilization
MP count low (10MP)
bad battery life (500 CIPA)
missing Timelapse recording
42
you can focus manually
decently wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count good (14MP)
cannot switch lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
small screen (2.7")
no manual control
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
lack of Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-420
Vlogging with Pentax S1
9
no video
28
decently wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of microphone support
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Olympus E-420 vs Pentax S1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-420 and Pentax S1
 Olympus E-420Pentax Optio S1
General Information
Brand Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus E-420 Pentax Optio S1
Category Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Revealed 2008-06-23 2011-03-02
Physical type Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 14MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3648 x 2736 4288 x 3216
Highest native ISO 1600 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 3 9
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focus range - 1cm
Total lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 2.7 inches 2.7 inches
Display resolution 230k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display tech - TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 4s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1500s
Continuous shooting rate 4.0 frames per sec 1.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 3.90 m
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Highest video resolution None 1280x720
Video data format - Motion JPEG
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 426 gr (0.94 lbs) 157 gr (0.35 lbs)
Physical dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 527 not tested
Other
Battery life 500 shots 260 shots
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Card slots One One
Price at launch $999 $174