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Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50

Portability
86
Imaging
54
Features
76
Overall
62
Olympus PEN E-PL8 front
 
Pentax K-50 front
Portability
63
Imaging
58
Features
65
Overall
60

Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL8
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 357g - 115 x 67 x 38mm
  • Revealed September 2016
  • Previous Model is Olympus E-PL7
  • Refreshed by Olympus E-PL9
Pentax K-50
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51600
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/6000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 650g - 130 x 97 x 71mm
  • Announced November 2013
  • Earlier Model is Pentax K-30
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Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 Overview

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. The image resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the K-50 (16MP) is relatively comparable but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and K-50 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL8 was revealed 2 years later than the K-50 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-50 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting through a detailed comparison, below is a simple view of how the E-PL8 scores vs the K-50 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL8 over the Pentax K-50

 E-PL8 K-50 
AnnouncedSeptember 2016November 2013More recent by 35 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1037k921kClearer screen (+116k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-50 over the Olympus E-PL8

 K-50 E-PL8 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL8 and Pentax K-50

 E-PL8 K-50 
Focus manually Very accurate focus
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen dimensions
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen

Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to lug around your camera often, you need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL8 provides external dimensions of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") with a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-50 has dimensions of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are using at the time. Underneath is the front view dimension comparison of the E-PL8 and the K-50.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and K-50 is 86 and 63 respectively.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, it is very tough to visualise the difference in sensor measurements merely by seeing specs. The visual here will help offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL8 and K-50.

All in all, both of these cameras have got the exact same megapixels albeit not the same sensor measurements. The E-PL8 features the smaller sensor which will make achieving shallow DOF more challenging. The fresher E-PL8 will have an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-PL8
Portrait photography with Pentax K-50
72
focusing manually
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers face detection autofocus
saves RAW formats
74
manual focus
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
features face detection focus
exports RAW files
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Street photography factors
Pentax K-50 Street photography factors
84
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
features touch to focus
great ISO range (25,600)
65
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW files
weather sealing
above average high ISO (51,600)
screen does not articulate
more heavy than competitors in class (650 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Sports photography details
Pentax K-50 Sports photography details
67
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good megapixels (16MP)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
lacks phase detect autofocus
67
max shutter speed is good (1/6,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
features tracking autofocus
weather sealing
supports phase detect auto focus
painfully slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames/s)
bad battery power (410 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Travel photography factors
Pentax K-50 Travel photography factors
71
features touch to focus
good megapixels (16MP)
display is not selfie friendly
56
weather sealing
megapixel count decent (16MP)
built-in flash
bad battery power (410 per charge)
more heavy than competitors in class (650 grams)
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-50 as a Landscape photography camera
80
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
great ISO range (25,600)
saves RAW formats
74
manual focus
change lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
decent sized screen (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (16MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
above average high ISO (51,600)
exports RAW files
weather sealing
bad battery power (410 shots)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL8 Vlogging advice
Pentax K-50 Vlogging advice
35
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
offers face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
display is not selfie friendly
lack of external microphone support
28
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detection focus
good video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
screen isn't selfie friendly
no external microphone socket
more heavy than competitors in class (650 grams)
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Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-50 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL8 and Pentax K-50
 Olympus PEN E-PL8Pentax K-50
General Information
Brand Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus PEN E-PL8 Pentax K-50
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Revealed 2016-09-19 2013-11-27
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic VII PRIME M
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 23.7 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 372.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 16MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 4928 x 3264
Max native ISO 25600 51600
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW files
Min boosted ISO 100 -
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 81 11
Cross focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds Pentax KAF2
Amount of lenses 107 151
Crop factor 2.1 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 1,037k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen tech - TFT LCD monitor with brightness/color adjustment and AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.61x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/6000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 8.0fps 6.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range no built-in flash 12.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash options no built-in flash Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync+Redeye, Trailing Curtain Sync, Wireless
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize - 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30,25,24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60,50,30,25,24 fps), 640 x 424 (30,25,24 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 357 grams (0.79 lb) 650 grams (1.43 lb)
Dimensions 115 x 67 x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") 130 x 97 x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 79
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.7
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.0
DXO Low light score not tested 1120
Other
Battery life 350 pictures 410 pictures
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - D-LI109
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots 1 1
Launch price $500 $610