Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-5 II

The following is a thorough assessment of the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-5 II, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a huge difference among the image resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and K-5 II (16MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and K-5 II (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL3 was unveiled 20 months prior to the K-5 II making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-5 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go through a detailed comparison, below is a quick summation of how the E-PL3 matches up vs the K-5 II with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL3 and Pentax K-5 II. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery and Pentax K-5 II Gallery.

For anyone who is going to travel with your camera often, you need to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL3 has got outside dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") and a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-5 II has measurements of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") having a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-5 II in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you choose during that time. Following is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL3 against the K-5 II.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL3 and K-5 II is 88 and 60 respectively.

Usually, it is very hard to visualise the difference in sensor dimensions only by going through specs. The pic here will help give you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL3 and K-5 II.

All in all, both the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL3 having a smaller sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field harder and the Pentax K-5 II will provide greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-PL3 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.