Olympus E-PL7 vs Pentax K-r

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-PL7 vs Pentax K-r, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a substantial gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-PL7 (16MP) and K-r (12MP) and the E-PL7 (Four Thirds) and K-r (APS-C) boast totally different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL7 was released 3 years later than the K-r and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-r being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a simple synopsis of how the E-PL7 scores vs the K-r when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL7 & Pentax K-r. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL7 Gallery & Pentax K-r Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to lug around your camera, you'll need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL7 comes with exterior dimensions of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") and a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-r has measurements of 125mm x 97mm x 68mm (4.9" x 3.8" x 2.7") along with a weight of 598 grams (1.32 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL7 vs Pentax K-r in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are employing at that moment. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the E-PL7 vs the K-r.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL7 and K-r is 86 and 67 respectively.

More often than not, its hard to see the difference between sensor measurements only by reading specs. The graphic underneath should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL7 and K-r.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL7 featuring a tinier sensor will make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Olympus E-PL7 will offer you greater detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The more modern E-PL7 is going to have an edge with regard to sensor technology.