Olympus FE-4030 vs Pentax K-3

Its time to examine more in depth at the Olympus FE-4030 and Pentax K-3, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the FE-4030 (14MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the FE-4030 (1/2.3") and K-3 (APS-C) come with different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The FE-4030 was revealed 5 years earlier than the K-3 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus FE-4030 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the FE-4030 scores vs the K-3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus FE-4030 & Pentax K-3. The full galleries are available at Olympus FE-4030 Gallery & Pentax K-3 Gallery.

When you are going to travel with your camera frequently, you will want to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus FE-4030 features exterior dimensions of 93mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 146 grams (0.32 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 has measurements of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") and a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus FE-4030 and Pentax K-3 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with at the time. The following is the front view dimension comparison of the FE-4030 compared to the K-3.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the FE-4030 and K-3 is 95 and 59 respectively.

More often than not, it can be hard to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions just by researching technical specs. The image underneath will give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the FE-4030 and K-3.

As you have seen, the 2 cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The FE-4030 having a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF trickier and the Pentax K-3 will provide you with more detail because of its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged FE-4030 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.