Olympus E-PL1s vs Pentax K-01

In this write-up, we will be looking at the Olympus E-PL1s and Pentax K-01, both Entry-Level Mirrorless digital cameras by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a crucial gap between the image resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and K-01 (16MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and K-01 (APS-C) possess different sensor size.

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The E-PL1s was unveiled 18 months earlier than the K-01 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-01 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving in to a complete comparison, below is a brief synopsis of how the E-PL1s scores against the K-01 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL1s and Pentax K-01. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery and Pentax K-01 Gallery.

For those who are going to lug around your camera, you will want to consider its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL1s enjoys external dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") and a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) while the Pentax K-01 has dimensions of 122mm x 79mm x 58mm (4.8" x 3.1" x 2.3") along with a weight of 561 grams (1.24 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL1s and Pentax K-01 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you select at that moment. Below is the front view over all size comparison of the E-PL1s and the K-01.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1s and K-01 is 86 and 76 respectively.

Normally, its hard to visualize the difference between sensor measurements simply by reading through technical specs. The graphic here will help give you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL1s and K-01.

As you have seen, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL1s using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Pentax K-01 will give more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures far more aggressively. The older E-PL1s is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.