Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50

Lets take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-50, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There is a noticeable difference among the resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and K-50 (16MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and K-50 (APS-C) possess different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL3 was manufactured 3 years earlier than the K-50 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-50 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-PL3 matches up against the K-50 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Pentax K-50. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Pentax K-50 Gallery.

If you are aiming to carry your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL3 provides exterior 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-50 has dimensions of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") having a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-50 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are employing at that moment. Following is the front view sizing comparison of the E-PL3 versus the K-50.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL3 and K-50 is 88 and 63 respectively.

Generally, its tough to visualize the gap in sensor sizing simply by viewing specifications. The visual underneath might provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL3 and K-50.

To sum up, both of those cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-PL3 due to its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF trickier and the Pentax K-50 will provide you with more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older E-PL3 will be behind in sensor technology.