Clicky

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1

Portability
85
Imaging
53
Features
76
Overall
62
Olympus PEN E-P5 front
 
Pentax MX-1 front
Portability
84
Imaging
37
Features
60
Overall
46

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 Key Specs

Olympus E-P5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 420g - 122 x 69 x 37mm
  • Announced October 2013
  • Older Model is Olympus E-P3
Pentax MX-1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/1.7" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28-112mm (F1.8-2.5) lens
  • 391g - 122 x 61 x 51mm
  • Revealed July 2013
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 Overview

Below, we are comparing the Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There is a sizable difference among the resolutions of the E-P5 (16MP) and MX-1 (12MP) and the E-P5 (Four Thirds) and MX-1 (1/1.7") possess different sensor sizes.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The E-P5 was unveiled 4 months after the MX-1 which means that they are of a similar age. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-P5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax MX-1 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a in-depth comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-P5 matches up versus the MX-1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-P5 over the Pentax MX-1

 E-P5 MX-1 
Display resolution1037k920kCrisper display (+117k dot)
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax MX-1 over the Olympus E-P5

 MX-1 E-P5 

Common features in the Olympus E-P5 and Pentax MX-1

 E-P5 MX-1 
RevealedOctober 2013July 2013Same age
Focus manually Very accurate focus
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display dimension3"3"Identical display dimensions
Selfie screen Neither contains selfie screen

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 Physical Comparison

If you are aiming to travel with your camera, you will want to think about its weight and size. The Olympus E-P5 has got external dimensions of 122mm x 69mm x 37mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.5") and a weight of 420 grams (0.93 lbs) while the Pentax MX-1 has specifications of 122mm x 61mm x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") accompanied by a weight of 391 grams (0.86 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are using at that time. Here is the front view scale comparison of the E-P5 and the MX-1.

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-P5 and MX-1 is 85 and 84 respectively.

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it's tough to visualize the contrast in sensor dimensions only by going through a spec sheet. The image underneath may give you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-P5 and MX-1.

Clearly, each of the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-P5 having a larger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus E-P5 will show greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images much more aggressively.

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-P5 Portrait photography features
Pentax MX-1 Portrait photography features
71
focusing manually
above average flash sync speed (1/320 seconds)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
includes face detection focus
saves RAW formats
42
manual focus
has face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
cannot use external flash
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.7")
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-P5
Street photography with Pentax MX-1
78
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
provides touch focus
very good high ISO (25,600)
more heavy than competition in class (420 grams)
65
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
delivers RAW formats
sensor size is tiny (1/1.7")
heavier than competition in class (391 grams)
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-P5 Sports photography highlights
Pentax MX-1 Sports photography highlights
68
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good megapixels (16MP)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
includes tracking autofocus
does not have phase detect auto focus
43
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has tracking autofocus
better than average battery life (290 CIPA)
slow frames per second (1.0 fps)
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.7")
doesn't have phase detect AF
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-P5
Travel photography with Pentax MX-1
68
provides touch focus
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
more heavy than competition in class (420g)
display is not selfie friendly
61
better than average battery life (290 shots)
built-in flash
really wide (28mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
does not have Time Lapse function
heavier than competition in class (391 grams)
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-P5 Landscape photography features
Pentax MX-1 Landscape photography features
79
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
nice sensor size (Four Thirds)
very good high ISO (25,600)
saves RAW formats
55
manual focus
really wide (28mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
decent sized screen (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
delivers RAW formats
better than average battery life (290 per charge)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sensor resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.7")
does not have Time Lapse function
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-P5 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax MX-1 as a Vlogging camera
33
screen is touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
includes face detection focus
good video quality (1920 x 1080 pixels)
display is not selfie friendly
missing external microphone port
more heavy than competition in class (420 grams)
33
really wide (28mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detection focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
does not have external mic port
heavier than competition in class (391 grams)
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Olympus E-P5 vs Pentax MX-1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-P5 and Pentax MX-1
 Olympus PEN E-P5Pentax MX-1
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus PEN E-P5 Pentax MX-1
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2013-10-03 2013-07-01
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/1.7"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 7.44 x 5.58mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 41.5mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 12MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 25600 12800
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 35 25
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Max aperture - f/1.8-2.5
Macro focusing distance - 1cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 4.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Tilting
Screen size 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 1,037k dot 920k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen technology 3:2 LCD capacitive touchscreen TFT LCD with AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/8000s 1/8000s
Continuous shutter speed 9.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 7.00 m (ISO 100) 12.00 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync (1st or 2nd curtain), Manual (1/1 - 1/64) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Speed sync, Trailing Curtain sync
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/320s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p) 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Eye-Fi Connected
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 420g (0.93 pounds) 391g (0.86 pounds)
Dimensions 122 x 69 x 37mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.5") 122 x 61 x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 72 49
DXO Color Depth rating 22.8 20.4
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.4 11.3
DXO Low light rating 895 208
Other
Battery life 330 images 290 images
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - D-Li-106
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at release $389 $400