Clicky

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500

Portability
97
Imaging
34
Features
20
Overall
28
Olympus FE-3010 front
 
Pentax K-500 front
Portability
64
Imaging
58
Features
70
Overall
62

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 Key Specs

Olympus FE-3010
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 64 - 1600
  • Digital Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 36-108mm (F3.1-5.9) lens
  • 108g - 93 x 56 x 18mm
  • Introduced January 2009
Pentax K-500
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 646g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Introduced November 2013
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 Overview

On this page, we will be evaluating the Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500, one is a Ultracompact and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the FE-3010 (12MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the FE-3010 (1/2.3") and K-500 (APS-C) have different sensor size.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The FE-3010 was manufactured 5 years earlier than the K-500 which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus FE-3010 being a Ultracompact camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a simple summation of how the FE-3010 scores vs the K-500 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus FE-3010 over the Pentax K-500

 FE-3010 K-500 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-500 over the Olympus FE-3010

 K-500 FE-3010 
IntroducedNovember 2013January 2009More modern by 59 months
Manually focus More exact focusing
Screen dimensions3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution921k230kClearer screen (+691k dot)

Common features in the Olympus FE-3010 and Pentax K-500

 FE-3010 K-500 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither includes Touch friendly screen

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 Physical Comparison

When you are going to carry around your camera often, you will have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus FE-3010 features exterior dimensions of 93mm x 56mm x 18mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") along with a weight of 108 grams (0.24 lbs) and the Pentax K-500 has proportions of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Check out the Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have at that moment. Here is a front view dimensions comparison of the FE-3010 vs the K-500.

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the FE-3010 and K-500 is 97 and 64 respectively.

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 top view buttons comparison

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it's difficult to imagine the gap between sensor sizes purely by looking at a spec sheet. The picture here might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the FE-3010 and K-500.

Clearly, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The FE-3010 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field harder and the Pentax K-500 will give extra detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged FE-3010 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 sensor size comparison

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus FE-3010 Portrait photography highlights
Pentax K-500 Portrait photography highlights
26
offers face detect autofocus
lack of manual focus
no manual control
no external flash support
MP count low (12MP)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
74
has manual focus
good MP (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
offers face detection focusing
delivers RAW files
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Street Comparison

Olympus FE-3010 Street photography details
Pentax K-500 Street photography details
63
image stabilization (Digital)
weather proofing
screen does not articulate
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
68
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
good ISO range (51,600)
screen does not articulate
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Sports Comparison

Olympus FE-3010 Sports photography information
Pentax K-500 Sports photography information
33
image stabilization (Digital)
weather proofing
no shutter priority
MP count low (12MP)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
72
high shutter speed (1/6,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
offers tracking autofocus
good battery life (710 shots)
sensor has phase detect AF
very slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames/s)
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Travel Comparison

Olympus FE-3010 Travel photography advice
Pentax K-500 Travel photography advice
57
weather proofing
has built in flash
no Timelapse recording
MP count low (12MP)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
wide angle not good (36mm)
slow max aperture (f3.1)
67
good battery life (710 per charge)
good MP (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
display isn't selfie friendly
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Landscape Comparison

Olympus FE-3010 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-500 as a Landscape photography camera
31
image stabilization (Digital)
weather proofing
lack of manual focus
cannot swap lens (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not good (36mm)
slow max aperture (f3.1)
screen is small (2.7 inches)
no manual control
MP count low (12MP)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
no Timelapse recording
79
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
good ISO range (51,600)
delivers RAW files
good battery life (710 per charge)
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus FE-3010 Vlogging details
Pentax K-500 Vlogging details
28
image stabilization (Digital)
offers face detect autofocus
wide angle not good (36mm)
slow max aperture (f3.1)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
low res video (640 x 480 pxls)
no microphone socket
30
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
display isn't selfie friendly
doesn't have external microphone jack
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Olympus FE-3010 vs Pentax K-500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus FE-3010 and Pentax K-500
 Olympus FE-3010Pentax K-500
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus FE-3010 Pentax K-500
Category Ultracompact Entry-Level DSLR
Introduced 2009-01-07 2013-11-27
Body design Ultracompact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip - PRIME M
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 3:2
Highest Possible resolution 3968 x 2976 4928 x 3264
Maximum native ISO 1600 51600
Lowest native ISO 64 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points - 11
Cross focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens focal range 36-108mm (3.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/3.1-5.9 -
Macro focus range 5cm -
Amount of lenses - 151
Crop factor 5.9 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 2.7 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 230k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display tech - TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/6000 secs
Continuous shutter speed - 6.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 4.00 m 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, Fill-in, Red-Eye reduction, Off, On Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Fastest flash sync - 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps)
Maximum video resolution 640x480 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 108 gr (0.24 lbs) 646 gr (1.42 lbs)
Physical dimensions 93 x 56 x 18mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 79
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.7
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.1
DXO Low light score not tested 1087
Other
Battery life - 710 shots
Style of battery - AA
Battery model - 4 x AA
Self timer Yes (12 seconds) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Storage media xD-Picture Card, microSD, internal SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots Single Single
Price at release $140 $600