Olympus FE-5010 vs Pentax K-5

Let's take a more detailed look at the Olympus FE-5010 versus Pentax K-5, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There is a sizeable difference among the sensor resolutions of the FE-5010 (12MP) and K-5 (16MP) and the FE-5010 (1/2.3") and K-5 (APS-C) come with different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The FE-5010 was unveiled 23 months before the K-5 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus FE-5010 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go in to a complete comparison, below is a concise view of how the FE-5010 matches up versus the K-5 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus FE-5010 and Pentax K-5. The full galleries are provided at Olympus FE-5010 Gallery and Pentax K-5 Gallery.

If you're going to travel with your camera frequently, you'll have to think about its weight and size. The Olympus FE-5010 comes with external measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 21mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.8") with a weight of 130 grams (0.29 lbs) while the Pentax K-5 has specifications of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") having a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus FE-5010 versus Pentax K-5 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view measurements comparison of the FE-5010 versus the K-5.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the FE-5010 and K-5 is 96 and 60 respectively.

In many cases, it is difficult to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions simply by looking through technical specs. The picture below should give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the FE-5010 and K-5.

As you can tell, each of the cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The FE-5010 having a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field trickier and the Pentax K-5 will render more detail having an extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged FE-5010 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.