Olympus SH-50 vs Pentax K-x

Let's take a closer look at the Olympus SH-50 and Pentax K-x, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There is a huge difference between the sensor resolutions of the SH-50 (16MP) and K-x (12MP) and the SH-50 (1/2.3") and K-x (APS-C) posses totally different sensor size.

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing

The SH-50 was announced 3 years after the K-x which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-x being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick view of how the SH-50 scores versus the K-x with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SH-50 and Pentax K-x. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus SH-50 Gallery and Pentax K-x Gallery.

If you're looking to carry around your camera regularly, you'll need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus SH-50 enjoys exterior dimensions of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs) and the Pentax K-x has specifications of 123mm x 92mm x 68mm (4.8" x 3.6" x 2.7") and a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SH-50 and Pentax K-x in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. Following is a front view size comparison of the SH-50 and the K-x.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the SH-50 and K-x is 88 and 69 respectively.

Often, it's hard to visualise the difference between sensor sizes simply by going over specs. The image below should provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SH-50 and K-x.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The SH-50 having a tinier sensor will make getting bokeh trickier and the Olympus SH-50 will offer you extra detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop pics more aggressively. The fresher SH-50 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.