Olympus SH-50 vs Pentax K-3
88 Imaging
39 Features
48 Overall
42
59 Imaging
65 Features
85 Overall
73
Olympus SH-50 vs Pentax K-3 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 125 - 6400
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1920 x 1080 video
- 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
- 269g - 112 x 63 x 42mm
- Introduced January 2013
(Full Review)
- 24MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3.2" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 51200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- No Anti-Alias Filter
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Pentax KAF2 Mount
- 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
- Introduced April 2014
- Refreshed by Pentax K-3 II
Photography Glossary Olympus SH-50 vs Pentax K-3 Overview
Lets look closer at the Olympus SH-50 versus Pentax K-3, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the SH-50 (16MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the SH-50 (1/2.3") and K-3 (APS-C) posses different sensor size.
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music videoThe SH-50 was manufactured 15 months before the K-3 which makes them a generation apart from each other. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.
Before delving right into a detailed comparison, here is a concise view of how the SH-50 matches up vs the K-3 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.
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Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus SH-50 & Pentax K-3. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus SH-50 Gallery & Pentax K-3 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus SH-50 over the Pentax K-3
| SH-50 | K-3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touch screen | Quickly navigate |
Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 over the Olympus SH-50
| K-3 | SH-50 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | April 2014 | January 2013 | More recent by 15 months | |
| Screen dimensions | 3.2" | 3" | Bigger screen (+0.2") | |
| Screen resolution | 1037k | 460k | Crisper screen (+577k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus SH-50 and Pentax K-3
| SH-50 | K-3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual focus | Very precise focusing | |||
| Screen type | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed screen | |
| Selfie screen | Lack of selfie screen |
Olympus SH-50 vs Pentax K-3 Physical Comparison
In case you're going to lug around your camera, you'll need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus SH-50 provides outside measurements of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 has specifications of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).
See the Olympus SH-50 versus Pentax K-3 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you choose during that time. Following is a front view sizing comparison of the SH-50 compared to the K-3.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the SH-50 and K-3 is 88 and 59 respectively.
Olympus SH-50 vs Pentax K-3 Sensor Comparison
In many cases, its hard to imagine the gap between sensor measurements merely by going over technical specs. The graphic here might give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the SH-50 and K-3.
As you can tell, both of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The SH-50 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Pentax K-3 will deliver greater detail due to its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older SH-50 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.
Olympus SH-50 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and ViewFinder
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Olympus SH-50 vs Pentax K-3 Specifications
| Olympus SH-50 | Pentax K-3 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Company | Olympus | Pentax |
| Model | Olympus SH-50 | Pentax K-3 |
| Category | Small Sensor Superzoom | Advanced DSLR |
| Introduced | 2013-01-08 | 2014-04-10 |
| Body design | Compact | Mid-size SLR |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Processor Chip | TruePic VI | Prime III |
| Sensor type | BSI-CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.3" | APS-C |
| Sensor measurements | 6.17 x 4.55mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
| Sensor area | 28.1mm² | 366.6mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 16 megapixels | 24 megapixels |
| Anti aliasing filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 3:2 |
| Maximum resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 6016 x 4000 |
| Maximum native ISO | 6400 | 51200 |
| Lowest native ISO | 125 | 100 |
| RAW photos | ||
| Autofocusing | ||
| Manual focus | ||
| AF touch | ||
| AF continuous | ||
| Single AF | ||
| Tracking AF | ||
| Selective AF | ||
| AF center weighted | ||
| Multi area AF | ||
| AF live view | ||
| Face detection focusing | ||
| Contract detection focusing | ||
| Phase detection focusing | ||
| Number of focus points | - | 27 |
| Cross focus points | - | 25 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens mount | fixed lens | Pentax KAF2 |
| Lens focal range | 25-600mm (24.0x) | - |
| Highest aperture | f/3.0-6.9 | - |
| Macro focus distance | 5cm | - |
| Total lenses | - | 151 |
| Crop factor | 5.8 | 1.5 |
| Screen | ||
| Range of screen | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
| Screen diagonal | 3" | 3.2" |
| Screen resolution | 460 thousand dot | 1,037 thousand dot |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch capability | ||
| Screen tech | - | TFT LCD monitor |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder type | None | Optical (pentaprism) |
| Viewfinder coverage | - | 100% |
| Viewfinder magnification | - | 0.64x |
| Features | ||
| Slowest shutter speed | 15s | 30s |
| Maximum shutter speed | 1/2000s | 1/8000s |
| Continuous shooting speed | 12.0 frames/s | 8.0 frames/s |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Manually set exposure | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
| Custom WB | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Integrated flash | ||
| Flash range | 4.00 m | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) |
| Flash settings | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync | Auto, on, off, red-eye, slow sync, slow sync + red-eye, trailing curtain sync, high speed, wireless, manual |
| Hot shoe | ||
| AEB | ||
| WB bracketing | ||
| Maximum flash sync | - | 1/180s |
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment | ||
| Average | ||
| Spot | ||
| Partial | ||
| AF area | ||
| Center weighted | ||
| Video features | ||
| Supported video resolutions | 1920 x 1080 (60fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 480fps (176 x 128), 240fps (384 x 288) | 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) |
| Maximum video resolution | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 |
| Video data format | MPEG-4, H.264 | MPEG-4, H.264 |
| Microphone jack | ||
| Headphone jack | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | Built-In | None |
| Bluetooth | ||
| NFC | ||
| HDMI | ||
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec) |
| GPS | None | Optional |
| Physical | ||
| Environment seal | ||
| Water proof | ||
| Dust proof | ||
| Shock proof | ||
| Crush proof | ||
| Freeze proof | ||
| Weight | 269 gr (0.59 lbs) | 800 gr (1.76 lbs) |
| Physical dimensions | 112 x 63 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") | 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO All around score | not tested | 80 |
| DXO Color Depth score | not tested | 23.7 |
| DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | 13.4 |
| DXO Low light score | not tested | 1216 |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | - | 560 photos |
| Style of battery | - | Battery Pack |
| Battery model | SLB-10A | D-LI90 |
| Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec, Pet Auto Shutter) | Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds) |
| Time lapse recording | ||
| Storage media | SD/SDHC/SDXC | Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC |
| Storage slots | Single | 2 |
| Cost at launch | $300 | $639 |