Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-1

Its time to look more in depth at the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-1, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and K-1 (36MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and K-1 (Full frame) posses totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL3 was manufactured 5 years earlier than the K-1 and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-1 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise summation of how the E-PL3 matches up vs the K-1 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Pentax K-1. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Pentax K-1 Gallery.

When you are aiming to lug around your camera often, you will need to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL3 has outer measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") and a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) and the Pentax K-1 has specifications of 137mm x 110mm x 86mm (5.4" x 4.3" x 3.4") accompanied by a weight of 1010 grams (2.23 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-1 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are working with at the time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the E-PL3 compared to the K-1.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL3 and K-1 is 88 and 55 respectively.

Normally, its hard to envision the gap in sensor measurements just by seeing technical specs. The photograph below will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL3 and K-1.

As you can tell, both of these cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL3 because of its smaller sensor will make getting bokeh more difficult and the Pentax K-1 will show greater detail due to its extra 24MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older E-PL3 will be behind in sensor technology.