Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500
86 Imaging
48 Features
60 Overall
52
64 Imaging
58 Features
70 Overall
62
Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Key Specs
(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
(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
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.
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a LandslideThe 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.
Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Gallery
Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-P3 and Pentax K-500. The full galleries are available at Olympus E-P3 Gallery and Pentax K-500 Gallery.
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 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Announced | November 2013 | August 2011 | Fresher by 27 months | |
Screen resolution | 921k | 614k | Crisper screen (+307k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-P3 and Pentax K-500
E-P3 | K-500 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | Dial exact focus | |||
Screen type | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed screen | |
Screen dimensions | 3" | 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.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.
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 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 Screen and ViewFinder
Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison
Street Comparison
Sports Comparison
Travel Comparison
Landscape Comparison
Vlogging Comparison
Olympus E-P3 vs Pentax K-500 Specifications
Olympus PEN E-P3 | Pentax 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 |