Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-1 II

Lets examine more in depth at the Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-1 II, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and K-1 II (36MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and K-1 II (Full frame) enjoy different sensor size.

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The E-PL5 was launched 6 years earlier than the K-1 II and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-1 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going through a thorough comparison, below is a brief summary of how the E-PL5 scores versus the K-1 II in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL5 & Pentax K-1 Mark II. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery & Pentax K-1 II Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry your camera, you are going to need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL5 features outside measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) and the Pentax K-1 II has sizing of 137mm x 110mm x 86mm (5.4" x 4.3" x 3.4") having a weight of 1010 grams (2.23 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-1 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you select at that time. Below is the front view measurements comparison of the E-PL5 against the K-1 II.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL5 and K-1 II is 88 and 55 respectively.

Normally, its tough to visualize the gap in sensor sizing merely by checking out a spec sheet. The visual here may give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and K-1 II.

As you can see, both of these cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-PL5 due to its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF more challenging and the Pentax K-1 II will produce more detail utilizing its extra 20 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop images much more aggressively. The older E-PL5 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.