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Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50

Portability
88
Imaging
48
Features
52
Overall
49
Olympus PEN E-PL3 front
 
Pentax K-50 front
Portability
63
Imaging
58
Features
65
Overall
60

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 313g - 110 x 64 x 37mm
  • Released September 2011
  • Older Model is Olympus E-PL2
Pentax K-50
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 650g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Released November 2013
  • Succeeded the Pentax K-30
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 Overview

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.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL3 over the Pentax K-50

 E-PL3 K-50 
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display

Reasons to pick Pentax K-50 over the Olympus E-PL3

 K-50 E-PL3 
ReleasedNovember 2013September 2011Fresher by 26 months
Display resolution921k460kCrisper display (+461k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-50

 E-PL3 K-50 
Manual focus Very accurate focusing
Display dimension3"3"Identical display sizing
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch display Neither provides Touch display

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 size comparison

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

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Portrait photography advice
Pentax K-50 Portrait photography advice
60
has manual focus
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
features face detection autofocus
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12MP)
74
manual focus
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
provides face detect focusing
delivers RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL3
Street photography with Pentax K-50
84
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
65
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
environment proof
very good ISO range (51,600)
screen is fixed
more heavy than others (650g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Sports photography highlights
Pentax K-50 Sports photography highlights
45
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
features tracking autofocus
slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames per second)
MP count low (12MP)
not so great battery life (300 shots)
no phase detect autofocus
67
maximum shutter speed is high (1/6,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
provides tracking focus
environment proof
supports phase detect AF
max frames per second low (6.0 frames per second)
bad battery life (410 per charge)
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax K-50 as a Travel photography camera
44
does not have Timelapse mode
not so great battery life (300 shots)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
display isn't selfie friendly
56
environment proof
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
bad battery life (410 per charge)
more heavy than others (650 grams)
screen is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Landscape photography info
Pentax K-50 Landscape photography info
61
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12 megapixels)
not so great battery life (300 CIPA)
does not have Timelapse mode
74
manual focus
swap lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
very good ISO range (51,600)
delivers RAW formats
environment proof
bad battery life (410 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-PL3
Vlogging with Pentax K-50
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detection autofocus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
display isn't selfie friendly
does not have external microphone support
28
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detect focusing
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
screen is not selfie friendly
does not have microphone port
more heavy than others (650g)
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-50 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-50
 Olympus PEN E-PL3Pentax K-50
General Information
Make Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL3 Pentax K-50
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2011-09-20 2013-11-27
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Truepic VI PRIME M
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 16 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2
Max resolution 4032 x 3024 4928 x 3264
Max native ISO 12800 51600
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 35 11
Cross type focus points - 9
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Total lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Resolution of screen 460k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen tech HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/6000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 6.0 frames per sec 6.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/160 secs 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 313g (0.69 pounds) 650g (1.43 pounds)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 52 79
DXO Color Depth rating 20.9 23.7
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.3 13.0
DXO Low light rating 499 1120
Other
Battery life 300 photographs 410 photographs
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 D-LI109
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Launch cost $399 $610