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Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500

Portability
71 Imaging
53 Features
85 Overall
65
Olympus OM-D E-M1 front
 
Pentax K-500 front
Portability
64 Imaging
58 Features
70 Overall
62

Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 Key Specs

Olympus E-M1
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 497g - 130 x 94 x 63mm
  • Announced October 2013
  • Updated by Olympus E-M1 II
Pentax K-500
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 646g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Launched November 2013
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 Overview

The following is a comprehensive overview of the Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. The image resolution of the E-M1 (16MP) and the K-500 (16MP) is very comparable but the E-M1 (Four Thirds) and K-500 (APS-C) possess different sensor dimensions.

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The E-M1 was unveiled at a similar time to the K-500 so they are of a similar age. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a complete comparison, below is a quick summation of how the E-M1 scores versus the K-500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M1 over the Pentax K-500

		

		

			
 E-M1 K-500 
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution1037k921kClearer display (+116k dot)
Touch display  Easily navigate
		

	

	
	

		

		
Reasons to pick Pentax K-500 over the Olympus E-M1

		

		

			
 K-500 E-M1 
		

	

	
	

		

		
Common features in the Olympus E-M1 and Pentax K-500

		

		

			
 E-M1 K-500 
LaunchedOctober 2013November 2013Same age
Focus manually  Very accurate focus
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display sizing
Selfie screen  Lacking selfie screen
		

	

	

	
	
	
	

	

		

		
Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 Physical Comparison

		

		

			
If you're planning to travel with your camera, you will want to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M1 has outside measurements of 130mm x 94mm x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") along with a weight of 497 grams (1.10 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-500 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).
Take a look at the Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses
Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are working with at the time. The following is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-M1 versus the K-500.
Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 size comparison
Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-M1 and K-500 is 71 and 64 respectively.
Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 top view buttons comparison		

	

	
	

		

		
Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 Sensor Comparison

		

		

			
Sometimes, it's difficult to picture the gap in sensor dimensions simply by checking out specifications. The pic here may give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M1 and K-500.
To sum up, the two cameras offer the same exact megapixels but different sensor dimensions. The E-M1 offers the smaller sensor which will make obtaining bokeh tougher.
	
			Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 sensor size comparison			
		

	

	
	

		

		
Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and ViewFinder

		

		

					

		Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison	

	
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Photography Type Scores

		

	

	
Portrait Comparison
Olympus E-M1 Portrait photography info
Pentax K-500 Portrait photography info
71
 has manual focus
 high flash sync speed (1/320 seconds)
 good MP (16 megapixels)
 sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
 offers face detect autofocus
 delivers RAW formats
74
 manual focus
 decent sensor resolution (16MP)
 sensor size is nice (APS-C)
 comes with face detect focusing
 saves RAW files
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Street Comparison
Olympus E-M1 Street photography information
Pentax K-500 Street photography information
78
 tilting screen
 has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
 sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
 delivers RAW formats
 features focus by touch
 environment proof
 lighter than average (497g)
 good high ISO (25,600)
68
 has image stabilization (Sensor based)
 sensor size is nice (APS-C)
 saves RAW files
 above average high ISO (51,600)
 screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison
Olympus E-M1 Sports photography information
Pentax K-500 Sports photography information
70
 great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
 has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
 good MP (16 megapixels)
 sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
 offers tracking focus
 environment proof
 supports phase detect autofocus
 low battery life (350 CIPA)
72
 max shutter speed is good (1/6,000s)
 has image stabilization (Sensor based)
 decent sensor resolution (16MP)
 sensor size is nice (APS-C)
 comes with tracking focus
 great battery (710 CIPA)
 comes with phase detect AF
 painfully slow continuous shooting (6.0 fps)
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Travel Comparison
Travel photography with Olympus E-M1
Travel photography with Pentax K-500
65
 lighter than average (497g)
 environment proof
 features focus by touch
 good MP (16 megapixels)
 low battery life (350 shots)
 display is not selfie friendly
67
 great battery (710 CIPA)
 decent sensor resolution (16MP)
 has built in flash
 screen isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison
 Olympus E-M1 as a Landscape photography camera
 Pentax K-500 as a Landscape photography camera
73
 has manual focus
 switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
 nice screen size (3 inches)
 has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
 good MP (16MP)
 sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
 good high ISO (25,600)
 delivers RAW formats
 environment proof
 low battery life (350 per charge)
79
 manual focus
 change lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
 decent sized screen (3 inches)
 has image stabilization (Sensor based)
 decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
 sensor size is nice (APS-C)
 above average high ISO (51,600)
 saves RAW files
 great battery (710 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison
Olympus E-M1 Vlogging details
Pentax K-500 Vlogging details
36
 built-in touchscreen
 has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
 offers face detect autofocus
 high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
 comes with mic jack
 lighter than average (497 grams)
 display is not selfie friendly
30
 has image stabilization (Sensor based)
 comes with face detect focusing
 high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
 screen isn't selfie friendly
 no mic socket
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Olympus E-M1 vs Pentax K-500 Specifications

		

		

					

		
		

			Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M1 and Pentax K-500
 Olympus OM-D E-M1Pentax K-500
General Information
Make Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus OM-D E-M1 Pentax K-500
Type Pro Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Announced 2013-10-28 2013-11-27
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePIC VII PRIME M
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter    
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and  16:9 3:2
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 4928 x 3264
Max native ISO 25600 51600
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW format    
Autofocusing
Focus manually    
Touch focus    
Continuous autofocus    
Autofocus single    
Autofocus tracking    
Selective autofocus    
Center weighted autofocus    
Autofocus multi area    
Autofocus live view    
Face detection focus    
Contract detection focus    
Phase detection focus    
Number of focus points 81 11
Cross focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Total lenses 107 151
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 1,037k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly    
Liveview    
Touch function    
Screen technology - TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.74x 0.61x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000s 1/6000s
Continuous shooting rate 10.0 frames per second 6.0 frames per second
Shutter priority    
Aperture priority    
Manually set exposure    
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance    
Image stabilization    
Inbuilt flash    
Flash range no built-in flash 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash options Flash Auto, Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (2nd curtain), Manual Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless
Hot shoe    
Auto exposure bracketing    
White balance bracketing    
Maximum flash synchronize 1/320s 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment metering    
Average metering    
Spot metering    
Partial metering    
AF area metering    
Center weighted metering    
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic port    
Headphone port    
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth    
NFC    
HDMI    
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment sealing    
Water proof    
Dust proof    
Shock proof    
Crush proof    
Freeze proof    
Weight 497 gr (1.10 lb) 646 gr (1.42 lb)
Dimensions 130 x 94 x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 73 79
DXO Color Depth score 23.0 23.7
DXO Dynamic range score 12.7 13.1
DXO Low light score 757 1087
Other
Battery life 350 images 710 images
Battery type Battery Pack AA
Battery model BLN-1 4 x AA
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 secs, custom) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature    
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Single Single
Cost at launch $799 $600