Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax K-x

Below is a complete assessment of the Olympus PEN-F and Pentax K-x, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the PEN-F (20MP) and K-x (12MP) and the PEN-F (Four Thirds) and K-x (APS-C) posses different sensor sizing.

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The PEN-F was revealed 6 years later than the K-x and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus PEN-F being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-x being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going into a thorough comparison, here is a quick summary of how the PEN-F grades against the K-x in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN-F & Pentax K-x. The full galleries are available at Olympus PEN-F Gallery & Pentax K-x Gallery.

For anyone who is going to lug around your camera, you'll have to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus PEN-F enjoys external measurements of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") along with a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Pentax K-x has sizing of 123mm x 92mm x 68mm (4.8" x 3.6" x 2.7") along with a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs).

Compare the Olympus PEN-F and Pentax K-x in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are using during that time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the PEN-F and the K-x.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the PEN-F and K-x is 84 and 69 respectively.

Typically, its tough to picture the gap between sensor measurements just by looking at specs. The graphic below will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the PEN-F and K-x.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The PEN-F using its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field trickier and the Olympus PEN-F will resolve extra detail because of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop shots more aggressively. The more modern PEN-F should have an advantage in sensor innovation.