Olympus E-M1 III vs Pentax K-500

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-M1 III vs Pentax K-500, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap between the image resolutions of the E-M1 III (20MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the E-M1 III (Four Thirds) and K-500 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-M1 III was manufactured 6 years after the K-500 which is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M1 III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting right into a thorough comparison, here is a quick view of how the E-M1 III scores versus the K-500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III & Pentax K-500. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-M1 III Gallery & Pentax K-500 Gallery.

In case you're planning to carry around your camera frequently, you will have to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-M1 III provides outside dimensions of 134mm x 91mm x 69mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.7") having a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs) while the Pentax K-500 has specifications of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-M1 III vs Pentax K-500 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you choose at that moment. Below is a front view over all size comparison of the E-M1 III versus the K-500.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M1 III and K-500 is 67 and 64 respectively.

Normally, it can be tough to visualise the gap between sensor sizes purely by reviewing a spec sheet. The picture here might provide you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M1 III and K-500.

As you can see, each of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-M1 III because of its tinier sensor will make getting shallower depth of field harder and the Olympus E-M1 III will offer greater detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs more aggressively. The fresher E-M1 III will have an edge in sensor innovation.