Olympus E-PL5 vs Pentax Optio P70: Which Camera Fits Your Creative Journey?

Choosing the right camera can feel overwhelming, especially when comparing devices from different categories and design philosophies. Today, we put the Olympus PEN E-PL5, a mirrorless entry-level system camera, head-to-head with the Pentax Optio P70, an ultracompact point-and-shoot model. Both cameras serve distinct priorities but share the common goal of helping you capture unforgettable images.

Having personally tested and reviewed thousands of cameras over 15 years, we’ll break down these two cameras with keen attention to real-world performance and technical nuances. Whether you’re an enthusiast experimenting with mirrorless systems or prefer a pocketable traveler’s companion, this guide highlights what fits your needs best.

Physical size and ergonomics matter deeply to your shooting experience. The Olympus (left) offers a tangible heft, while the Pentax’s ultracompact form fits discreetly in your palm.

First Look: Form, Feel, and Design Philosophy

When you pick up the Olympus E-PL5, you immediately feel its rangefinder-style design, anchored by the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system. Measuring approximately 111x64x38mm and weighing 325g, it’s portable yet substantial, lending a solid grip, especially with larger lenses.

In contrast, the Pentax P70 is ultra-compact and lightweight at just 97x54x22mm and 155g, designed for extreme portability. It’s a convenient grab-and-go option for casual shooters who prize pocketability above all. However, its small size comes at the cost of limited physical controls and ergonomics.

Ergonomics & Control Layout

The E-PL5 integrates a tilting 3-inch touchscreen and a more traditional button arrangement, which means you can quickly navigate settings or even get creative with low/high-angle shots. The P70 has a fixed 2.7-inch screen and minimal buttons, making customization a challenge.

Top view shows the Olympus’ more comprehensive control dials compared to Pentax’s stripped-down interface.

For photographers who enjoy manual control and customization, the E-PL5 feels empowering. The P70 is simpler - ideal for quick snaps but not for those who want to tweak exposure or focus settings extensively.

Sensor Technology and Image Quality: A Fundamentals Showdown

Core to any camera’s imaging prowess is the sensor. Here, the Olympus leverages a Four Thirds CMOS sensor (17.3x13mm), 16MP resolution, while the Pentax uses a much smaller 1/2.3" CCD sensor (6.17x4.55mm) at 12MP.

The sensor size highlights the Olympus E-PL5’s clear advantage in capturing more light and detail compared to the tiny sensor inside the Pentax P70.

What This Means Practically:

• Dynamic Range & Color Depth: Olympus’s larger sensor offers a measured dynamic range of about 12.3 EV stops and color depth of 22.8 bits (DxOMark). This translates into smoother gradations in shadows and highlights and more accurate color reproduction. The P70’s small sensor struggles with highlight roll-off and color noise, especially in tricky lighting.

• Low Light/High ISO Performance: The E-PL5’s native ISO sensitivity tops out at 25,600, with useful low-light performance retaining image quality up to ISO 1600 - 3200. The P70 maxes out at ISO 6400, but noise increases quickly beyond ISO 400, making night or indoor shots grainy and less usable.

• Resolution: While Pentax’s 12MP resolution allows decent prints and sharing, Olympus’s 16MP sensor provides more cropping flexibility and better fine detail records - advantageous if you crop or print large. The larger Micro Four Thirds sensor also supports higher-quality lenses.

Bottom line: For sharpness, detail, and overall image quality, the Olympus E-PL5 is the clear winner, particularly in dynamic range and low-light situations.

Autofocus Systems That Work for You: Precision vs Simplicity

Autofocus (AF) technology can define the shooting experience, especially in fast or dynamic shooting situations.

• Olympus E-PL5 boasts a contrast-detection AF system with 35 focus points, face detection, live view AF, and even continuous AF tracking. While it lacks phase-detect pixels (now more common in modern cameras), its AF is accurate and reliable in good light.

• Pentax P70 relies on basic contrast-detection, with only 9 AF points and no face or eye detection. It handles focus decently for standard subjects at medium distances but struggles in low light and with moving targets.

Real-world AF performance insights:

• Portraits benefit greatly from the Olympus’s AF face detection and tracking. It keeps your subject’s eyes sharp and can maintain focus if they shift subtly. The P70 lacks face/eye detection, so focusing on specific points is less precise.

• For wildlife and sports, the Olympus’s continuous tracking lets you follow moving subjects better - although it can’t fully match professional-level DSLRs or newer mirrorless bodies with phase-detect AF.

In practical terms, if AF speed and precision matter for your style - portraits, street, or wildlife - Olympus satisfies better.

Build Quality, Weather Sealing, and Durability: What’s Under the Hood?

Neither camera boasts advanced weather sealing or ruggedness, but there are differences:

• The Olympus E-PL5 is built with a sturdy lightweight polycarbonate shell with metal accents and a solid feel in hand. Although not fully weather-sealed, it withstands general field use.

• The Pentax P70 targets casual users, with a plastic body and no weather sealing. Its compactness means it’s more susceptible to damage or malfunction from bumps or moisture.

As photographers who often bring gear outdoors, the Olympus gives you more confidence for travel, landscapes, and light action shooting. The Pentax is better as a backup or casual snapshot camera.

Screen & Viewfinder: Composing Your Story

The Olympus’s 3-inch tilting touchscreen with 460k-dot resolution encourages versatility - you can frame at odd angles or quickly adjust settings via touch. This is especially handy for vloggers, macro shooters, and street photographers wanting stealthy low or high compositions.

Pentax P70 has a fixed, non-touch 2.7-inch screen with a modest 230k dots, adequate for framing but limiting in live preview detail. No viewfinder is present on either camera, meaning you rely exclusively on LCD for composing.

The Olympus’s larger and tiltable screen allows easier composition and playback compared to the fixed screen of the Pentax P70.

Tip for buyers: If you favor flexible composition and touch operation, Olympus edges ahead.

Lens Ecosystem and Creative Flexibility

One pivotal difference is the mount system and lens options.

• Olympus E-PL5 uses the Micro Four Thirds mount, giving access to around 107 lenses from Olympus, Panasonic, and third-party manufacturers. This lens ecosystem ranges from ultra-wide to super-telephoto, primes, zooms, and specialty lenses for macro or portrait bokeh.

• Pentax P70 has a fixed built-in 28-110mm equivalent lens (F2.8-5.0). This range covers general usage but lacks the optical quality and creative depth you get from interchangeable lenses.

For expanding your creative toolkit - shallow depth-of-field portraits, macro photography, diverse landscape perspectives - the E-PL5’s MFT system utterly outclasses the P70’s fixed zoom.

Battery Life & Storage: Staying Powered and Ready

Olympus plays well with Sony-like battery tech in its BLS-5 battery, rated for around 360 shots per charge with moderate use.

Pentax unfortunately omits battery capacity info, but typical for compact cameras of that era is roughly 200-250 shots per charge. The smaller physical size also means a smaller battery.

Both cameras accept SD cards (Olympus extends support to SDXC), but Olympus supports faster write speeds benefiting burst shots and larger RAW files.

In a practical workflow, the once-a-day charging of the Olympus is more convenient. If you shoot extensively, pack spare batteries, especially for travel or events.

Video Capabilities: Capturing Motion

• Olympus E-PL5 records Full HD 1080p at 30fps with options of 720p and 480p. Codec options include MPEG-4, H.264, and Motion JPEG - allowing moderate compression quality and editing flexibility. Unfortunately, no microphone input or image stabilization for video is present.

• Pentax P70 maxes out at 720p 15fps, which is a significant limitation if video quality is important. The slower frame rate creates less fluid footage, limiting creative potential.

If video is a priority, Olympus provides solid enough quality for casual videography or vlogging, bearing in mind it’s not a professional camcorder.

Real-World Performance: Seeing the Cameras in Action

Olympus E PL5 front Olympus E PL5 screen back Pentax P70 front Pentax P70 screen back

Portrait Photography

• The E-PL5’s bokeh capabilities with fast MFT lenses create creamy background separation. Face detection AF keeps eyes sharp. Skin tones render natural thanks to wider color depth.

• Pentax’s fixed zoom lens and smaller sensor produce flatter backgrounds and less subject isolation. Lower resolution and noise reduce skin tone fidelity.

Landscape Photography

• With larger sensor, Olympus captures wider dynamic range, preserving cloud detail and shadow areas better. Access to wide-angle MFT lenses improves framing depth.

• Pentax’s small sensor exhibits limited latitude for post-processing shadows and highlights. Focal range limits composition versatility.

Wildlife & Sports

• Olympus’s 8fps burst mode and AF tracking support action capture. Telephoto MFT lenses magnify well with 2.0x crop factor.

• P70 lacks continuous shooting and AF tracking, making it unsuitable for wildlife or sports.

Street Photography

• Pentax’s subcompact size and quiet operation suit discreet shooting, meaning less attention drawn. However, slower autofocus and limited ISO range hinder low-light street scenes.

• Olympus is still compact but larger; tilting screen aids tricky angles often used in street. Better ISO performance and AF face/eye detection enhance candid shots.

Macro Photography

• Olympus system supports macro primes and focus peaking (in later firmware/tools), making precise focusing easier.

• P70’s minimum macro distance is 10cm but without focus assist, making close-up shots more challenging.

Night/Astro Photography

• Olympus’s superior noise handling and longer shutter speeds via manual control enable nightscapes and astrophotography exploration.

• Pentax’s ISO performance falls off dramatically, limiting night shooting to very bright artificial light or flash.

Connectivity and Workflow Integration

The E-PL5 supports Eye-Fi wireless card connectivity, enabling limited wireless image transfer - a forward-thinking feature at release.

The P70 lacks any wireless connectivity.

Both offer HDMI output and USB 2.0 for image transfer and external viewing but no USB charging or tethering support.

Professionals and serious enthusiasts will appreciate the ability to transfer images wirelessly and the flexibility of RAW support with the Olympus.

Price-to-Performance: What You Get for Your Dollar

• Olympus E-PL5 was originally priced around $400, offering advanced manual controls, interchangeable lenses, and better image quality.

• Pentax P70’s price hovers around $200, reflecting its compact, fixed-lens design with simplified controls.

If budget is your strictest constraint and portability is paramount, the Pentax makes sense as a casual snapshot camera. But for deeper creative growth, the Olympus camera’s versatility presents better long-term value.

Final Thoughts: Which Camera Should You Choose?

Our side-by-side comparison reveals two cameras built for very different users and shooting priorities.

Our Recommendation:

• If you’re transitioning into more serious photography, want creative lens control, or plan to explore multiple genres, Olympus E-PL5 is the stronger, more future-proof choice. It offers superior image quality, manual controls, and a mature lens system.

• If your priorities center on casual snapshots, lightweight convenience, and immediate grab-and-go simplicity, and budget is limited, Pentax P70 fulfills those needs without fuss.

Getting Started and Next Steps

If the Olympus E-PL5 looks like your kind of camera, consider investing in compact prime lenses like the Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 for stunning portraits and low-light shooting. Also, check out third-party grips and external flashes for creative lighting options.

For Pentax P70 users, exploring accessories like wrist straps and protective cases can help maximize your pocket camera’s ease of use and durability.

Whichever you choose, the best camera is the one you feel inspired to pick up every day. These cameras are tools in your creative arsenal; understanding their strengths empowers you to capture your vision.

Summary Table of Key Specifications

Hopefully, this comparison gives you a thorough, technical, yet accessible view into how these two cameras stack up based on actual performance and shooting needs. To get the best feel, we always recommend hands-on testing where possible - visit a camera store or rent the cameras to see them in your hands. Photography is a personal journey, and your ideal camera choice reflects your unique style and creative ambitions.

Happy shooting!