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Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1

Portability
84
Imaging
59
Features
79
Overall
67
Olympus PEN-F front
 
Pentax Optio S1 front
Portability
93
Imaging
37
Features
31
Overall
34

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 Key Specs

Olympus PEN-F
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 200 - 25600
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 427g - 125 x 72 x 37mm
  • Revealed January 2016
Pentax S1
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 157g - 114 x 58 x 28mm
  • Announced March 2011
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Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 Overview

Lets examine more closely at the Olympus PEN-F and Pentax S1, one being a Advanced Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a sizeable gap between the image resolutions of the PEN-F (20MP) and S1 (14MP) and the PEN-F (Four Thirds) and S1 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor sizing.

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The PEN-F was announced 4 years later than the S1 and that is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus PEN-F being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax S1 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a detailed comparison, below is a concise summation of how the PEN-F scores against the S1 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus PEN-F over the Pentax S1

 PEN-F S1 
AnnouncedJanuary 2016March 2011More recent by 60 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display sizing3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution1037k230kClearer display (+807k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies
Touch display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax S1 over the Olympus PEN-F

 S1 PEN-F 

Common features in the Olympus PEN-F and Pentax S1

 PEN-F S1 
Focus manually Dial exact focus

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 Physical Comparison

When you are planning to lug around your camera regularly, you will want to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus PEN-F has outside measurements of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") with a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Pentax S1 has proportions of 114mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1") and a weight of 157 grams (0.35 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus PEN-F and Pentax S1 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you use at the time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the PEN-F and the S1.

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the PEN-F and S1 is 84 and 93 respectively.

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 top view buttons comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 Sensor Comparison

Normally, it is difficult to visualise the contrast between sensor measurements purely by reading through technical specs. The graphic below should offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the PEN-F and S1.

As you have seen, both the cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The PEN-F with its larger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Olympus PEN-F will give more detail with its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos far more aggressively. The younger PEN-F is going to have an edge when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 sensor size comparison

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Portrait photography highlights
Pentax S1 Portrait photography highlights
75
has manual focus
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides face detect autofocus
delivers RAW files
35
focusing manually
megapixel count decent (14MP)
manual exposure not available
can't use external flash
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus PEN-F
Street photography with Pentax S1
84
fully articulated screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW files
features focus via touch
good high ISO (25,600)
56
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
screen is fixed
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Sports photography factors
Pentax S1 Sports photography factors
67
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000s)
silent mode (1/16,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
provides tracking focus
low battery life (330 per charge)
lacks phase detect autofocus
39
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
has tracking focus
painfully slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus PEN-F
Travel photography with Pentax S1
75
features focus via touch
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
display is selfie friendly
low battery life (330 per charge)
64
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
really wide (28mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
does not feature selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus PEN-F as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax S1 as a Landscape photography camera
76
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a decent size (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (20MP)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
good high ISO (25,600)
delivers RAW files
low battery life (330 per charge)
42
focusing manually
really wide (28mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
cannot swap lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
tiny screen (2.7 inches)
manual exposure not available
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lacks RAW files
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus PEN-F Vlogging info
Pentax S1 Vlogging info
78
display is selfie friendly
built-in touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
provides face detect autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
doesn't have mic jack
28
really wide (28mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have mic jack
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Olympus PEN-F vs Pentax S1 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus PEN-F and Pentax S1
 Olympus PEN-FPentax Optio S1
General Information
Make Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus PEN-F Pentax Optio S1
Category Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Revealed 2016-01-27 2011-03-02
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VII -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 20 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3 and 16:9
Max resolution 5184 x 3888 4288 x 3216
Max native ISO 25600 6400
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW images
Min enhanced ISO 80 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points 81 9
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focus distance - 1cm
Total lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3" 2.7"
Screen resolution 1,037k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology - TFT color LCD with Anti-reflective coating
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,360k dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.62x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 4 secs
Max shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/1500 secs
Max silent shutter speed 1/16000 secs -
Continuous shutter speed 10.0 frames/s 1.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range no built-in flash 3.90 m
Flash settings 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, Soft
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 427 grams (0.94 lb) 157 grams (0.35 lb)
Dimensions 125 x 72 x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") 114 x 58 x 28mm (4.5" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 74 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 23.1 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 894 not tested
Other
Battery life 330 images 260 images
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLN-1 D-LI92
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 seconds, custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots One One
Pricing at release $1,000 $174