Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax K-5

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax K-5, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a crucial gap among the resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and K-5 (16MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and K-5 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL1 was introduced 7 months before the K-5 and they are of a similar generation. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going into a full comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the E-PL1 scores versus the K-5 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL1 and Pentax K-5. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery and Pentax K-5 Gallery.

If you are looking to travel with your camera often, you have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL1 has got external dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") having a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-5 has measurements of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") having a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax K-5 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are using at the time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the E-PL1 vs the K-5.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1 and K-5 is 86 and 60 respectively.

Sometimes, its hard to see the difference in sensor dimensions only by going through technical specs. The picture here should give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL1 and K-5.

As you can tell, both the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL1 using its smaller sensor will make getting shallow DOF more difficult and the Pentax K-5 will produce extra detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics more aggressively. The more aged E-PL1 will be behind in sensor innovation.