Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3

Here is a in-depth assessment of the Olympus SZ-10 and Pentax K-3, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There is a large difference between the image resolutions of the SZ-10 (14MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the SZ-10 (1/2.3") and K-3 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-10 was revealed 4 years before the K-3 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a detailed comparison, here is a brief summation of how the SZ-10 scores against the K-3 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-10 & Pentax K-3. The full galleries are available at Olympus SZ-10 Gallery & Pentax K-3 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to carry your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SZ-10 has external measurements of 106mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 215 grams (0.47 lbs) and the Pentax K-3 has dimensions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Check the Olympus SZ-10 and Pentax K-3 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at the time. Here is a front view measurements comparison of the SZ-10 and the K-3.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-10 and K-3 is 90 and 59 respectively.

Generally, it is very difficult to see the gap between sensor sizing purely by reading a spec sheet. The visual here will help offer you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-10 and K-3.

As you can see, the two cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The SZ-10 with its tinier sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field harder and the Pentax K-3 will offer more detail because of its extra 10MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop photographs more aggressively. The older SZ-10 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.