Olympus E-620 vs Pentax K-5

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-620 and Pentax K-5, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap among the resolutions of the E-620 (12MP) and K-5 (16MP) and the E-620 (Four Thirds) and K-5 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-620 was released 17 months earlier than the K-5 making them a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-620 being a Compact SLR camera and the Pentax K-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a full comparison, here is a simple view of how the E-620 scores against the K-5 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-620 & Pentax K-5. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-620 Gallery & Pentax K-5 Gallery.

If you are going to carry your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-620 has got physical dimensions of 130mm x 94mm x 60mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.4") along with a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs) and the Pentax K-5 has dimensions of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") with a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-620 and Pentax K-5 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you choose at the time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the E-620 against the K-5.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-620 and K-5 is 71 and 60 respectively.

Normally, it is very tough to envision the gap in sensor sizing purely by going through specifications. The graphic here may offer you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-620 and K-5.

To sum up, each of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-620 due to its smaller sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Pentax K-5 will provide greater detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The older E-620 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.