Olympus SZ-12 vs Pentax K-3 II

Let's look much closer at the Olympus SZ-12 and Pentax K-3 II, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a considerable difference between the sensor resolutions of the SZ-12 (14MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the SZ-12 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) posses different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The SZ-12 was revealed 4 years before the K-3 II which is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick summation of how the SZ-12 grades versus the K-3 II when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus SZ-12 & Pentax K-3 II. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-12 Gallery & Pentax K-3 II Gallery.

For those who are looking to carry around your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Olympus SZ-12 has got outside dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") having a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-3 II has measurements of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") having a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Look at the Olympus SZ-12 and Pentax K-3 II in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have attached at that moment. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the SZ-12 against the K-3 II.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-12 and K-3 II is 89 and 59 respectively.

In many cases, its tough to visualize the contrast between sensor sizes only by reviewing a spec sheet. The image underneath should provide you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the SZ-12 and K-3 II.

As you can see, each of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The SZ-12 using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Pentax K-3 II will offer you more detail because of its extra 10MP. Greater resolution can also help you crop images more aggressively. The more aged SZ-12 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.