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Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Pentax K-r front
Portability
67
Imaging
53
Features
52
Overall
52

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r Key Specs

Olympus E-PL5
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 325g - 111 x 64 x 38mm
  • Released September 2012
Pentax K-r
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800 (Push to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Max Shutter
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 598g - 125 x 97 x 68mm
  • Revealed March 2011
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r Overview

Below, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-PL5 and Pentax K-r, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and K-r (12MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and K-r (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL5 was unveiled 19 months after the K-r which makes the cameras a generation away from one another. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-r being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving through a comprehensive comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the E-PL5 scores versus the K-r for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Pentax K-r

 E-PL5 K-r 
RevealedSeptember 2012March 2011Newer by 19 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-r over the Olympus E-PL5

 K-r E-PL5 
Screen resolution921k460kSharper screen (+461k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Pentax K-r

 E-PL5 K-r 
Manual focus More exact focus
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen measurements

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to travel with your camera regularly, you're going to have to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL5 comes with exterior measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) and the Pentax K-r has measurements of 125mm x 97mm x 68mm (4.9" x 3.8" x 2.7") accompanied by a weight of 598 grams (1.32 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL5 and Pentax K-r in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have chosen at that moment. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the E-PL5 versus the K-r.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL5 and K-r is 88 and 67 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r Sensor Comparison

Normally, it's tough to see the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by reading technical specs. The pic here will provide you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL5 and K-r.

As you have seen, the two cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL5 having a tinier sensor will make shooting shallow DOF trickier and the Olympus E-PL5 will offer you more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The more recent E-PL5 will have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Portrait photography camera
Pentax K-r as a Portrait photography camera
71
focusing manually
good resolution (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
offers face detect focusing
exports RAW files
63
has manual focus
decent sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
low resolution (12 megapixels)
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Street photography camera
Pentax K-r as a Street photography camera
85
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
boasts touch to focus
good ISO range (25,600)
67
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
screen does not articulate
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax K-r as a Sports photography camera
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
offers tracking focus
has no phase detect AF
55
great max shutter speed (1/6,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
supports phase detect autofocus
slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames/s)
low resolution (12 megapixels)
terrible battery power (470 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Travel photography highlights
Pentax K-r Travel photography highlights
75
boasts touch to focus
good resolution (16 megapixels)
display is selfie friendly
does not have Timelapse function
47
flash built-in
terrible battery power (470 per charge)
low resolution (12MP)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-r as a Landscape photography camera
74
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
good ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW files
does not have Timelapse function
65
has manual focus
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
low resolution (12MP)
terrible battery power (470 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax K-r as a Vlogging camera
78
display is selfie friendly
touchscreen enabled
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detect focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does not have microphone jack
26
image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection autofocus
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
low quality video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external microphone socket
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax K-r Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Pentax K-r
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Pentax K-r
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus PEN E-PL5 Pentax K-r
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2012-09-17 2011-03-11
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip - Prime II
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.6 x 15.8mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 372.9mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 12MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 4288 x 2848
Highest native ISO 25600 12800
Highest boosted ISO - 25600
Min native ISO 200 200
RAW files
Min boosted ISO - 100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points 35 11
Cross focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Amount of lenses 107 151
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 3"
Display resolution 460k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech - TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 96 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.57x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/6000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 8.0 frames/s 6.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Trailing Curtain Sync, High-Speed Sync and Wireless Sync
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/250 seconds 1/180 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (25 fps), 640 x 480 (25 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 325 gr (0.72 lbs) 598 gr (1.32 lbs)
Dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 125 x 97 x 68mm (4.9" x 3.8" x 2.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 72 72
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 22.9
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 12.4
DXO Low light score 889 755
Other
Battery life 360 pictures 470 pictures
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 D-LI109,4 x AA
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC
Card slots One One
Retail pricing $400 $1,100