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Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500

Portability
80
Imaging
62
Features
88
Overall
72
Olympus OM-D E-M5 III front
 
Pentax Optio RS1500 front
Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
30
Overall
34

Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 Key Specs

Olympus E-M5 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 4096 x 2160 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 414g - 125 x 85 x 50mm
  • Launched October 2019
  • Superseded the Olympus E-M5 II
  • Replacement is OM System OM-5
Pentax RS1500
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-110mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Released March 2011
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Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 Overview

Let's look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-M5 III and Pentax RS1500, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the E-M5 III (20MP) and RS1500 (14MP) and the E-M5 III (Four Thirds) and RS1500 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor sizing.

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The E-M5 III was unveiled 8 years later than the RS1500 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-M5 III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax RS1500 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a more detailed comparison, below is a short summary of how the E-M5 III grades versus the RS1500 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 III over the Pentax RS1500

 E-M5 III RS1500 
ReleasedOctober 2019March 2011Fresher by 105 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display dimension3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution1040k230kCrisper display (+810k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax RS1500 over the Olympus E-M5 III

 RS1500 E-M5 III 

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 III and Pentax RS1500

 E-M5 III RS1500 
Manual focus More exact focus

Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to carry your camera, you will have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M5 III enjoys outside dimensions of 125mm x 85mm x 50mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 2.0") having a weight of 414 grams (0.91 lbs) whilst the Pentax RS1500 has sizing of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M5 III and Pentax RS1500 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you select during that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the E-M5 III compared to the RS1500.

Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M5 III and RS1500 is 80 and 93 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it's tough to imagine the gap in sensor sizing just by viewing technical specs. The photograph below should offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-M5 III and RS1500.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-M5 III using its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus E-M5 III will provide you with extra detail having an extra 6MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more recent E-M5 III should have a benefit with regard to sensor tech.

Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-M5 III Portrait photography information
Pentax RS1500 Portrait photography information
77
focusing manually
decent megapixels (20MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
includes face detect autofocus
delivers RAW formats
35
has manual focus
MP count decent (14MP)
manual exposure not possible
no external flash support
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 III Street photography factors
Pentax RS1500 Street photography factors
83
fully articulated screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
comes with touch to focus
weather proofing
great ISO range (25,600)
54
weather proofing
no moving screen
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 III Sports photography information
Pentax RS1500 Sports photography information
76
great max shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
silent shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
max fps high (30.0 frames/s)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (20MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
includes tracking focus
weather proofing
comes with phase detect autofocus
not so great battery life (310 CIPA)
37
MP count decent (14MP)
offers tracking autofocus
weather proofing
slow fps (1.0 frames per second)
no shutter priority mode
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 III Travel photography highlights
Pentax RS1500 Travel photography highlights
77
weather proofing
supports bluetooth
comes with touch to focus
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
selfie friendly screen
not so great battery life (310 CIPA)
67
weather proofing
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
rather wide (28mm)
lack of Time Lapse function
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-M5 III Landscape photography info
Pentax RS1500 Landscape photography info
77
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (20MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
delivers RAW formats
weather proofing
not so great battery life (310 per charge)
40
has manual focus
rather wide (28mm)
MP count decent (14MP)
weather proofing
can't swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is somewhat small (2.7")
manual exposure not possible
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
lack of Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-M5 III
Vlogging with Pentax RS1500
84
selfie friendly screen
touch screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
includes face detect autofocus
high res video (4096 x 2160 pxls)
does have mic support
25
rather wide (28mm)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
does not have image stabilization
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
lack of external mic port
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Olympus E-M5 III vs Pentax RS1500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 III and Pentax RS1500
 Olympus OM-D E-M5 IIIPentax Optio RS1500
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 III Pentax Optio RS1500
Category Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2019-10-17 2011-03-16
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VIII -
Sensor type MOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.4 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 226.2mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 20 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 5184 x 3888 4288 x 3216
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW support
Min boosted ISO 64 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 121 9
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-110mm (3.9x)
Largest aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focusing distance - 1cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch 2.7 inch
Screen resolution 1,040k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen technology - TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.68x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/1500 secs
Highest silent shutter speed 1/32000 secs -
Continuous shooting speed 30.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 3.90 m
Flash settings Auto, redeye, fill, off, redeye slow sync, slow sync, 2nd-curtain slow sync, manual Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 4096 x 2160 @ 24p / 237 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Max video resolution 4096x2160 1280x720
Video format MPEG-4, H.264 Motion JPEG
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 414g (0.91 lbs) 157g (0.35 lbs)
Dimensions 125 x 85 x 50mm (4.9" x 3.3" x 2.0") 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 310 pictures 260 pictures
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 secs, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II supported) SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Launch price $1,199 $150