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Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500

Portability
86
Imaging
48
Features
60
Overall
52
Olympus PEN E-P3 front
 
Pentax K-500 front
Portability
64
Imaging
58
Features
70
Overall
62

Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Key Specs

Olympus E-P3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 369g - 122 x 69 x 34mm
  • Revealed August 2011
  • Replaced the Olympus E-P2
  • Later Model is Olympus E-P5
Pentax K-500
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 646g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Announced November 2013
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Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Overview

On this page, we will be comparing the Olympus E-P3 and Pentax K-500, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Pentax. There is a crucial difference among the image resolutions of the E-P3 (12MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the E-P3 (Four Thirds) and K-500 (APS-C) have different sensor size.

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The E-P3 was unveiled 3 years earlier than the K-500 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a brief summation of how the E-P3 scores vs the K-500 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-P3 over the Pentax K-500

 E-P3 K-500 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-500 over the Olympus E-P3

 K-500 E-P3 
AnnouncedNovember 2013August 2011Fresher by 27 months
Screen resolution921k614kCrisper screen (+307k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-P3 and Pentax K-500

 E-P3 K-500 
Focus manually Dial exact focus
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen size
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen

Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is intending to carry your camera, you will need to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-P3 provides outside dimensions of 122mm x 69mm x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") and a weight of 369 grams (0.81 lbs) and the Pentax K-500 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") and a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-P3 and Pentax K-500 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the E-P3 compared to the K-500.

Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the E-P3 and K-500 is 86 and 64 respectively.

Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Sensor Comparison

Often, its difficult to imagine the gap in sensor sizing purely by seeing a spec sheet. The visual below will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-P3 and K-500.

Clearly, each of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-P3 using its smaller sensor is going to make shooting bokeh more difficult and the Pentax K-500 will show greater detail having an extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older E-P3 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-P3
Portrait photography with Pentax K-500
60
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports face detection focusing
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12 megapixels)
74
has manual focus
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
supports face detection autofocus
delivers RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-P3 Street photography features
Pentax K-500 Street photography features
76
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
supports touch focus
no moving screen
68
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
above average high ISO (51,600)
screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-P3 Sports photography advice
Pentax K-500 Sports photography advice
49
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports tracking autofocus
continuous shooting slow (3.0 frames per second)
MP count low (12MP)
lack of phase detect AF
72
high shutter speed (1/6,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
supports tracking autofocus
good battery life (710 per charge)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
slow frames per second (6.0 frames per second)
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-P3
Travel photography with Pentax K-500
60
supports touch focus
built-in flash
lack of Timelapse recording
MP count low (12MP)
display isn't selfie friendly
67
good battery life (710 per charge)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
built-in flash
does not offer selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-P3 Landscape photography factors
Pentax K-500 Landscape photography factors
65
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12MP)
lack of Timelapse recording
79
has manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
above average high ISO (51,600)
delivers RAW formats
good battery life (710 per charge)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-P3 Vlogging factors
Pentax K-500 Vlogging factors
35
touchscreen functionality
image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detection focusing
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
display isn't selfie friendly
lack of external microphone socket
30
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detection autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does not offer selfie friendly screen
missing external mic socket
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Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-P3 and Pentax K-500
 Olympus PEN E-P3Pentax K-500
General Information
Brand Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus PEN E-P3 Pentax K-500
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Revealed 2011-08-17 2013-11-27
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VI 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 12MP 16MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2
Max resolution 4032 x 3024 4928 x 3264
Max native ISO 12800 51600
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 35 11
Cross type focus points - 9
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Amount of lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 3" 3"
Screen resolution 614 thousand dots 921 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen technology 3:2 OLED with Anti-Fingerprint Coating TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/6000 secs
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames/s 6.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 10.00 m (@ ISO 200) 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Wireless, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/180 secs 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 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 AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 369 gr (0.81 lb) 646 gr (1.42 lb)
Physical dimensions 122 x 69 x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 51 79
DXO Color Depth rating 20.8 23.7
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.1 13.1
DXO Low light rating 536 1087
Other
Battery life 330 images 710 images
Form of battery Battery Pack AA
Battery ID BLS-5 4 x AA
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots 1 1
Launch cost $0 $600