Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K100D S

Below is a in-depth review of the Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K100D S, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and K100D S (6MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and K100D S (APS-C) have totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL3 was launched 4 years later than the K100D S and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K100D S being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving right into a detailed comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-PL3 matches up against the K100D S in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL3 and Pentax K100D Super. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery and Pentax K100D S Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera often, you'll need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL3 offers outer dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) whilst the Pentax K100D S has proportions of 129mm x 91mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K100D S in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are employing during that time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the E-PL3 vs the K100D S.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL3 and K100D S is 88 and 65 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to visualise the gap between sensor measurements purely by going over specs. The graphic here will give you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL3 and K100D S.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL3 due to its tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field tougher and the Olympus E-PL3 will offer extra detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images a bit more aggressively. The younger E-PL3 is going to have an advantage in sensor technology.