Olympus E-PL8 vs Pentax K-70

In this article, we will be comparing the Olympus E-PL8 and Pentax K-70, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the E-PL8 (16MP) and K-70 (24MP) and the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and K-70 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The E-PL8 was released 4 months later than the K-70 and they are both of a similar age. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-70 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go straight into a complete comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the E-PL8 matches up against the K-70 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL8 & Pentax K-70. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery & Pentax K-70 Gallery.

When you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL8 offers outer measurements of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") having a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) while the Pentax K-70 has dimensions of 126mm x 93mm x 74mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 2.9") and a weight of 688 grams (1.52 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL8 and Pentax K-70 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the E-PL8 against the K-70.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and K-70 is 86 and 62 respectively.

Typically, it is very tough to see the difference in sensor measurements merely by looking through specifications. The visual underneath might offer you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL8 and K-70.

To sum up, the two cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-PL8 due to its smaller sensor will make achieving shallower DOF trickier and the Pentax K-70 will render more detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs a little more aggressively.