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Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70

Portability
88
Imaging
52
Features
72
Overall
60
Olympus PEN E-PL5 front
 
Pentax Optio E70 front
Portability
94
Imaging
33
Features
11
Overall
24

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 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
  • Launched September 2012
Pentax E70
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.4" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 64 - 6400
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 35-105mm (F3.1-5.9) lens
  • 175g - 94 x 61 x 26mm
  • Launched January 2009
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Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 Overview

The following is a extensive review of the Olympus E-PL5 and Pentax E70, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Pentax. There is a crucial difference among the resolutions of the E-PL5 (16MP) and E70 (10MP) and the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and E70 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL5 was introduced 3 years after the E70 which is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax E70 being a Compact camera.

Before diving right into a thorough comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-PL5 matches up vs the E70 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL5 over the Pentax E70

 E-PL5 E70 
LaunchedSeptember 2012January 2009Newer by 46 months
Focus manually More precise focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimensions3"2.4"Bigger screen (+0.6")
Screen resolution460k112kSharper screen (+348k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax E70 over the Olympus E-PL5

 E70 E-PL5 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL5 and Pentax E70

 E-PL5 E70 

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to travel with your camera often, you need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL5 offers exterior dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) while the Pentax E70 has proportions of 94mm x 61mm x 26mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 1.0") accompanied by a weight of 175 grams (0.39 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL5 and Pentax E70 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you use at that moment. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the E-PL5 and the E70.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL5 and E70 is 88 and 94 respectively.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it is tough to picture the gap in sensor dimensions merely by researching technical specs. The picture below may offer you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL5 and E70.

As you have seen, both of those cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL5 with its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus E-PL5 will provide you with more detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs more aggressively. The fresher E-PL5 should have an advantage in sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Portrait photography advice
Pentax E70 Portrait photography advice
71
has manual focus
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
offers face detection autofocus
saves RAW files
19
manual focus not available
lack of manual exposure
cannot use external flash
MP count low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Street photography camera
Pentax E70 as a Street photography camera
85
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
saves RAW files
comes with focus via touch
very good ISO range (25,600)
47
screen does not articulate
no image stabilization
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Sports photography info
Pentax E70 Sports photography info
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
lack of phase detect autofocus
16
no shutter priority mode
no image stabilization
MP count low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Travel photography highlights
Pentax E70 Travel photography highlights
75
comes with focus via touch
good MP (16MP)
screen is selfie friendly
does not have Timelapse function
50
flash built-in
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
MP count low (10 megapixels)
does not contain selfie friendly display
wide angle not great (35mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.1)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax E70 as a Landscape photography camera
74
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (16 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
very good ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW files
does not have Timelapse function
22
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not great (35mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.1)
tiny screen (2.4 inches)
lack of manual exposure
no image stabilization
MP count low (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL5 Vlogging features
Pentax E70 Vlogging features
78
screen is selfie friendly
touch screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does not have external microphone port
22
wide angle not great (35mm)
sluggish max aperture (f3.1)
does not contain selfie friendly display
no image stabilization
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
doesn't have mic jack
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax E70 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL5 and Pentax E70
 Olympus PEN E-PL5Pentax Optio E70
General Information
Brand Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus PEN E-PL5 Pentax Optio E70
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2012-09-17 2009-01-05
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 10 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 3648 x 2736
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 64
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 35-105mm (3.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.1-5.9
Macro focus distance - 10cm
Total lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.9
Screen
Range of display Tilting Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inches 2.4 inches
Display resolution 460 thousand dot 112 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 8.0 frames/s -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 3.50 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) -
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 325 grams (0.72 lbs) 175 grams (0.39 lbs)
Physical dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 94 x 61 x 26mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 1.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 72 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 22.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 889 not tested
Other
Battery life 360 photographs -
Battery format Battery Pack -
Battery model BLS-5 2 x AA
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Retail cost $400 $140