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Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3

Portability
90
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36
Olympus SZ-10 front
 
Pentax K-3 front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
85
Overall
73

Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 Key Specs

Olympus SZ-10
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-504mm (F3.1-4.4) lens
  • 215g - 106 x 67 x 38mm
  • Revealed February 2011
Pentax K-3
(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
  • Revealed April 2014
  • Later Model is Pentax K-3 II
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Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 Overview

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.

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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.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-10 over the Pentax K-3

 SZ-10 K-3 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 over the Olympus SZ-10

 K-3 SZ-10 
RevealedApril 2014February 2011Fresher by 38 months
Manually focus Very accurate focus
Screen dimensions3.2"3"Bigger screen (+0.2")
Screen resolution1037k460kSharper screen (+577k dot)

Common features in the Olympus SZ-10 and Pentax K-3

 SZ-10 K-3 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Neither has selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Missing Touch friendly screen

Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 size comparison

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

Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 as a Portrait photography camera
Pentax K-3 as a Portrait photography camera
33
MP count decent (14MP)
offers face detection autofocus
manual focus not available
lack of manual mode
cannot use external flash
very small sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
79
manual focus
good MP (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
comes with face detection focus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Street photography info
Pentax K-3 Street photography info
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than average in class (215 grams)
no moving screen
very small sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW files
environment proof
very good ISO range (51,200)
screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus SZ-10
Sports photography with Pentax K-3
40
incredible zoom range (28-504mm 18.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count decent (14MP)
offers tracking autofocus
slow continuous shooting (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
bad battery power (220 per charge)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
76
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
comes with tracking autofocus
environment proof
sensor has phase detect auto focus
low battery (560 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 Travel photography information
Pentax K-3 Travel photography information
65
lighter than average in class (215g)
MP count decent (14MP)
built-in flash
rather wide (28mm)
great zoom (504mm)
no Timelapse recording
bad battery power (220 shots)
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
60
environment proof
good MP (24MP)
has built in flash
low battery (560 per charge)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus SZ-10
Landscape photography with Pentax K-3
40
rather wide (28mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count decent (14MP)
manual focus not available
cannot switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
lack of manual mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
bad battery power (220 shots)
no Timelapse recording
78
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
pretty good screen size (3.2 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
doesnt have anti aliasing filter
very good ISO range (51,200)
saves RAW files
environment proof
has double storage slots
low battery (560 per charge)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SZ-10 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax K-3 as a Vlogging camera
31
rather wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers face detection autofocus
lighter than average in class (215 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.1)
screen isn't selfie friendly
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
no external microphone support
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
includes external microphone port
display isn't selfie friendly
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Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-10 and Pentax K-3
 Olympus SZ-10Pentax K-3
General Information
Brand Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus SZ-10 Pentax K-3
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2011-02-08 2014-04-10
Body design Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic III+ Prime III
Sensor type CCD 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 14 megapixels 24 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2
Full resolution 4288 x 3216 6016 x 4000
Max native ISO 1600 51200
Minimum native ISO 80 100
RAW files
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points - 27
Cross focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens focal range 28-504mm (18.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/3.1-4.4 -
Macro focus distance 1cm -
Number of lenses - 151
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 3.2"
Resolution of display 460 thousand dot 1,037 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display tech TFT Color LCD TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000s 1/8000s
Continuous shooting speed 1.0 frames per sec 8.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 7.10 m 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, on, off, red-eye, slow sync, slow sync + red-eye, trailing curtain sync, high speed, wireless, manual
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync - 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 215 gr (0.47 lb) 800 gr (1.76 lb)
Physical dimensions 106 x 67 x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") 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 220 photographs 560 photographs
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots Single 2
Retail cost $300 $639