Olympus E-500 vs Pentax K-30

Lets look much closer at the Olympus E-500 and Pentax K-30, both Advanced DSLR digital cameras by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a substantial gap between the resolutions of the E-500 (8MP) and K-30 (16MP) and the E-500 (Four Thirds) and K-30 (APS-C) possess different sensor dimensions.

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The E-500 was announced 8 years prior to the K-30 and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).

Before we go through a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the E-500 grades vs the K-30 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-500 & Pentax K-30. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-500 Gallery & Pentax K-30 Gallery.

When you are aiming to lug around your camera, you will have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-500 comes with outside measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 66mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 479 grams (1.06 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-30 has proportions of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-500 and Pentax K-30 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you select during that time. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the E-500 versus the K-30.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-500 and K-30 is 70 and 63 respectively.

More often than not, it's tough to visualize the gap between sensor measurements simply by checking technical specs. The graphic underneath may provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-500 and K-30.

As you have seen, each of these cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-500 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting bokeh more difficult and the Pentax K-30 will resolve more detail with its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The older E-500 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.