Olympus SZ-11 vs Pentax K-3 II

Here is a extensive review of the Olympus SZ-11 vs Pentax K-3 II, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There is a crucial difference among the sensor resolutions of the SZ-11 (14MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the SZ-11 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) posses different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-11 was unveiled 4 years earlier than the K-3 II and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SZ-11 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before we go into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise overview of how the SZ-11 scores vs the K-3 II for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-11 and Pentax K-3 II. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-11 Gallery and Pentax K-3 II Gallery.

If you are planning to carry your camera regularly, you are going to need to consider its weight and size. The Olympus SZ-11 comes with exterior measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 II 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).

Check out the Olympus SZ-11 vs Pentax K-3 II in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are employing at that moment. Below is a front view measurements comparison of the SZ-11 compared to the K-3 II.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the SZ-11 and K-3 II is 89 and 59 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to picture the gap in sensor sizing just by viewing specs. The visual here will help offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-11 and K-3 II.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The SZ-11 having a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Pentax K-3 II will render greater detail having an extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The older SZ-11 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.