Clicky

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1

Portability
84
Imaging
59
Features
79
Overall
67
Olympus PEN-F front
 
Pentax MX-1 front
Portability
84
Imaging
37
Features
60
Overall
46

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 Key Specs

Olympus PEN-F
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 427g - 125 x 72 x 37mm
  • Announced January 2016
Pentax MX-1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/1.7" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28-112mm (F1.8-2.5) lens
  • 391g - 122 x 61 x 51mm
  • Revealed July 2013
Photography Glossary

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 Overview

Below is a extended assessment of the Olympus PEN-F versus Pentax MX-1, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a considerable gap between the resolutions of the PEN-F (20MP) and MX-1 (12MP) and the PEN-F (Four Thirds) and MX-1 (1/1.7") possess totally different sensor dimensions.

Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

The PEN-F was introduced 2 years later than the MX-1 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus PEN-F being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax MX-1 being a Compact camera.

Before we go in to a thorough comparison, below is a brief overview of how the PEN-F scores against the MX-1 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus PEN-F over the Pentax MX-1

 PEN-F MX-1 
RevealedJanuary 2016July 2013More recent by 32 months
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Screen resolution1037k920kCrisper screen (+117k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax MX-1 over the Olympus PEN-F

 MX-1 PEN-F 

Common features in the Olympus PEN-F and Pentax MX-1

 PEN-F MX-1 
Manual focus Very exact focus
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 Physical Comparison

In case you're intending to lug around your camera often, you should factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus PEN-F offers outside measurements of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Pentax MX-1 has dimensions of 122mm x 61mm x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") accompanied by a weight of 391 grams (0.86 lbs).

Check out the Olympus PEN-F versus Pentax MX-1 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are employing at that time. Here is the front view proportions comparison of the PEN-F vs the MX-1.

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the PEN-F and MX-1 is 84 and 84 respectively.

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it's hard to see the gap between sensor measurements merely by reading through technical specs. The visual below will provide you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the PEN-F and MX-1.

As you have seen, both of those cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The PEN-F having a bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh easier and the Olympus PEN-F will give you more detail using its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more recent PEN-F will have an edge when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 sensor size comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Portrait photography details
Pentax MX-1 Portrait photography details
75
has manual focus
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
provides face detection autofocus
supports RAW files
42
focusing manually
offers face detect focus
exports RAW formats
no external flash support
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/1.7")
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Street Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Street photography advice
Pentax MX-1 Street photography advice
84
screen can move to multiple angles
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
features touch to focus
very good high ISO (25,600)
65
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW formats
tiny sensor size (1/1.7")
heavier than others (391g)
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Sports Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Sports photography info
Pentax MX-1 Sports photography info
67
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
quiet shutter (1/16,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
resolution is good (20MP)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
provides tracking autofocus
terrible battery pack (330 CIPA)
lacks phase detect autofocus
43
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers tracking focus
good battery power (290 shots)
max frames per second very slow (1.0 frames per second)
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/1.7")
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Travel Comparison

Olympus PEN-F as a Travel photography camera
Pentax MX-1 as a Travel photography camera
75
features touch to focus
resolution is good (20MP)
screen is selfie friendly
terrible battery pack (330 shots)
61
good battery power (290 per charge)
built-in flash
relatively wide (28mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
does not have Time Lapse function
heavier than others (391g)
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Landscape Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Landscape photography highlights
Pentax MX-1 Landscape photography highlights
76
has manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
very good high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW files
terrible battery pack (330 CIPA)
55
focusing manually
relatively wide (28mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
good sized screen (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW formats
good battery power (290 per charge)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
low megapixels (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/1.7")
does not have Time Lapse function
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Vlogging advice
Pentax MX-1 Vlogging advice
78
screen is selfie friendly
touchscreen functionality
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does not have external microphone port
33
relatively wide (28mm)
very good max aperture (f1.8)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers face detect focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't have selfie friendly display
does not have mic port
heavier than others (391 grams)
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax MX-1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus PEN-F and Pentax MX-1
 Olympus PEN-FPentax MX-1
General Information
Company Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus PEN-F Pentax MX-1
Category Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2016-01-27 2013-07-01
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VII -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/1.7"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 7.44 x 5.58mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 41.5mm²
Sensor resolution 20 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 5184 x 3888 4000 x 3000
Highest native ISO 25600 12800
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW format
Min boosted ISO 80 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Total focus points 81 25
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-112mm (4.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/1.8-2.5
Macro focusing range - 1cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 4.8
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Tilting
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 1,037 thousand dot 920 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display technology - TFT LCD with AR coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,360 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.62x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/8000s 1/8000s
Highest quiet shutter speed 1/16000s -
Continuous shooting speed 10.0 frames/s 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 12.00 m
Flash options Flash Auto, Redeye, Fill-in, Flash Off, Red-eye Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (1st curtain), Slow sync (2nd curtain) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Speed sync, Trailing Curtain sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 427g (0.94 pounds) 391g (0.86 pounds)
Dimensions 125 x 72 x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") 122 x 61 x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 74 49
DXO Color Depth rating 23.1 20.4
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.4 11.3
DXO Low light rating 894 208
Other
Battery life 330 photographs 290 photographs
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLN-1 D-Li-106
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 seconds, custom) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at launch $1,000 $400