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Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II

Portability
81
Imaging
52
Features
70
Overall
59
Olympus OM-D E-M5 front
 
Pentax K-3 II front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II Key Specs

Olympus E-M5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 425g - 122 x 89 x 43mm
  • Revealed April 2012
  • Replacement is Olympus E-M5 II
Pentax K-3 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Introduced April 2015
  • Succeeded the Pentax K-3
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Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II Overview

Its time to look closer at the Olympus E-M5 and Pentax K-3 II, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There is a significant difference between the resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the E-M5 (Four Thirds) and K-3 II (APS-C) boast different sensor size.

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The E-M5 was released 4 years before the K-3 II and that is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving right into a full comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the E-M5 grades vs the K-3 II with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-M5 over the Pentax K-3 II

 E-M5 K-3 II 
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Olympus E-M5

 K-3 II E-M5 
IntroducedApril 2015April 2012More recent by 36 months
Display size3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k610kClearer display (+427k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-M5 and Pentax K-3 II

 E-M5 K-3 II 
Manually focus More precise focusing
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II Physical Comparison

For anybody who is intending to lug around your camera often, you will need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 offers physical measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 II has specifications of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M5 and Pentax K-3 II in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the E-M5 against the K-3 II.

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and K-3 II is 81 and 59 respectively.

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II Sensor Comparison

Generally, it can be tough to picture the difference between sensor measurements purely by looking at a spec sheet. The visual below should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and K-3 II.

As you can see, the two cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-M5 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field more difficult and the Pentax K-3 II will resolve more detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop photos way more aggressively. The older E-M5 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II sensor size comparison

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-M5
Portrait photography with Pentax K-3 II
71
you can focus manually
MP count good (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detect autofocus
saves RAW formats
79
focusing manually
MP count good (24MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detection autofocus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Street photography highlights
Pentax K-3 II Street photography highlights
82
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
offers focus via touch
environment sealing
great high ISO (25,600)
69
image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
environment sealing
above average ISO range (51,200)
fixed screen
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Sports photography highlights
Pentax K-3 II Sports photography highlights
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides tracking focus
environment sealing
lack of phase detect autofocus
76
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count good (24 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
comes with tracking autofocus
environment sealing
comes with phase detect autofocus
bad battery pack (720 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Travel photography info
Pentax K-3 II Travel photography info
66
environment sealing
offers focus via touch
MP count good (16 megapixels)
missing Time Lapse function
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
56
environment sealing
MP count good (24 megapixels)
bad battery pack (720 per charge)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-M5
Landscape photography with Pentax K-3 II
73
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
MP count good (16MP)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
great high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW formats
environment sealing
missing Time Lapse function
78
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3.2")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count good (24 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
doesnt have low pass filter
above average ISO range (51,200)
supports RAW formats
environment sealing
two card slots
bad battery pack (720 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-M5 Vlogging advice
Pentax K-3 II Vlogging advice
34
screen is touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detect autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
missing mic support
34
image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external microphone socket
display is not selfie friendly
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-M5 vs Pentax K-3 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-M5 and Pentax K-3 II
 Olympus OM-D E-M5Pentax K-3 II
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus OM-D E-M5 Pentax K-3 II
Category Advanced Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2012-04-30 2015-04-23
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic VI Prime III
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Highest Possible resolution 4608 x 3456 6016 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 25600 51200
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW photos
Lowest enhanced ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 35 27
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Number of lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Type of display Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3" 3.2"
Display resolution 610 thousand dots 1,037 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech Touch control in electrostatic capacitance type OLED monitor -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x 0.64x
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 9.0 frames per second 8.3 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash no built-in flash
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (2), Manual (3 levels) Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, Wireless sync (available with dedicated external flash)
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/250 seconds 1/180 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Optional
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 425 gr (0.94 pounds) 800 gr (1.76 pounds)
Physical dimensions 122 x 89 x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 71 80
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.3 13.6
DXO Low light rating 826 1106
Other
Battery life 360 photographs 720 photographs
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One Two
Retail cost $799 $829