Olympus E-PM1 vs Pentax K-30

Lets look a little more in depth at the Olympus E-PM1 versus Pentax K-30, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PM1 (12MP) and K-30 (16MP) and the E-PM1 (Four Thirds) and K-30 (APS-C) come with different sensor sizes.

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The E-PM1 was brought out 11 months earlier than the K-30 and they are of a similar age. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PM1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-30 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight into a in depth comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-PM1 scores versus the K-30 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PM1 & Pentax K-30. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PM1 Gallery & Pentax K-30 Gallery.

For those who are looking to carry around your camera regularly, you will have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PM1 provides physical dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") along with a weight of 265 grams (0.58 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-30 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PM1 versus Pentax K-30 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you select during that time. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the E-PM1 vs the K-30.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PM1 and K-30 is 89 and 63 respectively.

More often than not, it can be tough to imagine the gap in sensor sizes purely by researching specs. The image below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PM1 and K-30.

All in all, both of those cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-PM1 featuring a smaller sensor is going to make achieving bokeh more challenging and the Pentax K-30 will provide you with greater detail having its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-PM1 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.