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Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP

Portability
86
Imaging
47
Features
43
Overall
45
Olympus PEN E-PL1 front
 
Pentax KP front
Portability
61
Imaging
68
Features
76
Overall
71

Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP Key Specs

Olympus E-PL1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 334g - 115 x 72 x 42mm
  • Revealed May 2010
  • Successor is Olympus E-PL1s
Pentax KP
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 819200
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 703g - 132 x 101 x 76mm
  • Launched January 2017
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Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP Overview

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the E-PL1 (12MP) and KP (24MP) and the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and KP (APS-C) feature different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL1 was brought out 7 years prior to the KP and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax KP being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a thorough comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the E-PL1 scores against the KP in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL1 over the Pentax KP

 E-PL1 KP 

Reasons to pick Pentax KP over the Olympus E-PL1

 KP E-PL1 
LaunchedJanuary 2017May 2010More recent by 81 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display sizing3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution921k230kClearer display (+691k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL1 and Pentax KP

 E-PL1 KP 
Manually focus Very precise focusing
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen
Touch friendly display Missing Touch friendly display

Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP Physical Comparison

For anyone who is looking to lug around your camera regularly, you need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL1 has 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) and the Pentax KP has specifications of 132mm x 101mm x 76mm (5.2" x 4.0" x 3.0") having a weight of 703 grams (1.55 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have at the time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL1 against the KP.

Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1 and KP is 86 and 61 respectively.

Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP Sensor Comparison

Normally, its difficult to visualize the gap between sensor measurements only by going over specs. The graphic below will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL1 and KP.

As you can plainly see, both cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1 due to its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF trickier and the Pentax KP will deliver greater detail having its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop photos a little more aggressively. The older E-PL1 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-PL1
Portrait photography with Pentax KP
60
manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection focusing
saves RAW files
low MP (12MP)
80
manual focus
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
has face detect autofocus
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL1
Street photography with Pentax KP
74
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
no moving screen
76
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
weather sealing
very good ISO range (819,200)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 Sports photography information
Pentax KP Sports photography information
44
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
low frames per second (3.0 fps)
low MP (12 megapixels)
bad battery (290 shots)
has no phase detect AF
72
maximum shutter speed is high (1/6,000s)
silent shooting (1/24,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
has tracking focus
weather sealing
low battery life (390 CIPA)
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 Travel photography information
Pentax KP Travel photography information
51
has built in flash
no Time Lapse function
bad battery (290 shots)
low MP (12 megapixels)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
62
weather sealing
decent megapixels (24MP)
has built in flash
low battery life (390 CIPA)
does not have selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 Landscape photography details
Pentax KP Landscape photography details
55
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
screen is small (2.7 inches)
low MP (12 megapixels)
bad battery (290 shots)
no Time Lapse function
78
manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
very good ISO range (819,200)
delivers RAW files
weather sealing
low battery life (390 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL1 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax KP as a Vlogging camera
29
image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection focusing
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
no external mic port
35
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detect autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
has microphone port
does not have selfie friendly screen
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Olympus E-PL1 vs Pentax KP Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL1 and Pentax KP
 Olympus PEN E-PL1Pentax KP
General Information
Brand Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus PEN E-PL1 Pentax KP
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2010-05-17 2017-01-26
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Truepic V PRIME IV
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 12MP 24MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Max resolution 4032 x 3024 6016 x 4000
Max native ISO 3200 819200
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 11 27
Cross focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Available lenses 107 151
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen diagonal 2.7" 3"
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen tech HyperCrystal LCD AR (Anti-Reflective) coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.63x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/6000 seconds
Fastest silent shutter speed - 1/24000 seconds
Continuous shutter speed 3.0 frames/s 7.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 10.00 m 6.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, auto w/redeye reduction, flash on w/redeye reduction, slow sync, trailing curtain sync, manual, wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 30p)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 334g (0.74 lb) 703g (1.55 lb)
Dimensions 115 x 72 x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") 132 x 101 x 76mm (5.2" x 4.0" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 54 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.1 not tested
DXO Low light score 487 not tested
Other
Battery life 290 photographs 390 photographs
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-1 D-LI109
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 secs)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC card SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I supported)
Storage slots Single Single
Launch pricing $288 $747