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Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500

Portability
88
Imaging
54
Features
77
Overall
63
Olympus PEN E-PL6 front
 
Pentax Optio RS1500 front
Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
30
Overall
34

Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL6
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 325g - 111 x 64 x 38mm
  • Announced August 2014
  • Successor is Olympus E-PL7
Pentax RS1500
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-110mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Launched March 2011
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Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 Overview

Following is a complete assessment of the Olympus E-PL6 and Pentax RS1500, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Pentax. The sensor resolution of the E-PL6 (16MP) and the RS1500 (14MP) is relatively close but the E-PL6 (Four Thirds) and RS1500 (1/2.3") use different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL6 was announced 3 years after the RS1500 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL6 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax RS1500 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a thorough comparison, below is a quick view of how the E-PL6 matches up versus the RS1500 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL6 over the Pentax RS1500

 E-PL6 RS1500 
LaunchedAugust 2014March 2011More modern by 42 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax RS1500 over the Olympus E-PL6

 RS1500 E-PL6 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL6 and Pentax RS1500

 E-PL6 RS1500 
Focus manually More precise focus

Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 Physical Comparison

If you are going to carry around your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL6 provides external measurements of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Pentax RS1500 has specifications of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") with a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL6 and Pentax RS1500 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are using at that time. Here is the front view dimension comparison of the E-PL6 against the RS1500.

Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL6 and RS1500 is 88 and 93 respectively.

Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it can be tough to visualize the gap in sensor sizes merely by viewing specs. The pic below might provide you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL6 and RS1500.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PL6 using its bigger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh less difficult and the Olympus E-PL6 will provide you with greater detail with its extra 2MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The fresher E-PL6 should have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL6 Portrait photography highlights
Pentax RS1500 Portrait photography highlights
72
has manual focus
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
includes face detection focus
supports RAW files
35
manual focus
MP count decent (14MP)
lack of manual mode
external flash not possible
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-PL6
Street photography with Pentax RS1500
85
screen tilts up and down
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
offers touch to focus
good high ISO (25,600)
54
weather sealing
no articulating screen
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL6 Sports photography advice
Pentax RS1500 Sports photography advice
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
includes tracking autofocus
lacks phase detect auto focus
37
MP count decent (14MP)
provides tracking focus
weather sealing
max fps very slow (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL6 as a Travel photography camera
Pentax RS1500 as a Travel photography camera
86
offers touch to focus
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
screen is selfie friendly
67
weather sealing
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
really wide (28mm)
missing Time Lapse recording
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL6 Landscape photography details
Pentax RS1500 Landscape photography details
80
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
good high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW files
40
manual focus
really wide (28mm)
MP count decent (14MP)
weather sealing
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is small (2.7 inch)
lack of manual mode
does not have image stabilization
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
missing Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL6 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax RS1500 as a Vlogging camera
79
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen capability
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
no external mic jack
25
really wide (28mm)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
does not have image stabilization
low res video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing mic port
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Olympus E-PL6 vs Pentax RS1500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL6 and Pentax RS1500
 Olympus PEN E-PL6Pentax Optio RS1500
General Information
Make Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL6 Pentax Optio RS1500
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2014-08-01 2011-03-16
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VI -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4608 x 3456 4288 x 3216
Highest native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 100 80
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-110mm (3.9x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focusing range - 1cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inches 2.7 inches
Screen resolution 460 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen technology - TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/1500 secs
Continuous shooting speed 8.0 frames per second 1.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 7.00 m (bundled FL-LM1) 3.90 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Soft
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format MPEG-4, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic jack
Headphone jack
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
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 325 gr (0.72 pounds) 157 gr (0.35 pounds)
Dimensions 111 x 64 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 360 pictures 260 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Cost at launch $300 $150