Olympus SZ-10 vs Pentax K-3 II

Let's look closer at the Olympus SZ-10 and Pentax K-3 II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a sizable gap between the resolutions of the SZ-10 (14MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the SZ-10 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) boast totally different sensor measurements.

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The SZ-10 was revealed 5 years earlier than the K-3 II and that is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-10 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going right into a in depth comparison, here is a brief summary of how the SZ-10 grades against the K-3 II in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SZ-10 & Pentax K-3 II. The full galleries are available at Olympus SZ-10 Gallery & Pentax K-3 II Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry your camera, you'll need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-10 has outer dimensions of 106mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.2" x 2.6" x 1.5") having a weight of 215 grams (0.47 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 II has proportions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus SZ-10 and Pentax K-3 II in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are working with at that time. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the SZ-10 against the K-3 II.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SZ-10 and K-3 II is 90 and 59 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to visualise the gap between sensor sizing just by looking at a spec sheet. The graphic here might give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-10 and K-3 II.

Clearly, both the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The SZ-10 using its tinier sensor will make shooting shallow DOF more challenging and the Pentax K-3 II will give you more detail because of its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The older SZ-10 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.