Olympus E-PL9 vs Pentax K-500

Let's take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-PL9 vs Pentax K-500, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Pentax. The sensor resolution of the E-PL9 (16MP) and the K-500 (16MP) is fairly close but the E-PL9 (Four Thirds) and K-500 (APS-C) offer different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL9 was unveiled 4 years after the K-500 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL9 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting into a thorough comparison, here is a short summation of how the E-PL9 grades vs the K-500 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL9 & Pentax K-500. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL9 Gallery & Pentax K-500 Gallery.

When you are planning to carry around your camera, you're going to have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL9 comes with outside measurements of 117mm x 68mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.7" x 1.5") having a weight of 380 grams (0.84 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-500 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") and a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL9 vs Pentax K-500 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Underneath is a front view over all size comparison of the E-PL9 versus the K-500.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL9 and K-500 is 85 and 64 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to visualize the difference in sensor sizes simply by looking through a spec sheet. The picture underneath will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL9 and K-500.

As you can see, each of the cameras come with the identical megapixel count but different sensor sizes. The E-PL9 provides the smaller sensor which will make obtaining shallow depth of field trickier. The more recent E-PL9 provides a benefit in sensor tech.