Olympus SZ-30MR vs Pentax K-3 II

Below is a in depth review of the Olympus SZ-30MR versus Pentax K-3 II, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a considerable difference among the image resolutions of the SZ-30MR (16MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the SZ-30MR (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) provide totally different sensor dimensions.

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The SZ-30MR was announced 5 years prior to the K-3 II and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus SZ-30MR being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving right into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick introduction of how the SZ-30MR scores vs the K-3 II in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus SZ-30MR & Pentax K-3 II. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus SZ-30MR Gallery & Pentax K-3 II Gallery.

For those who are intending to lug around your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus SZ-30MR has external measurements 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 dimensions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") along with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

See the Olympus SZ-30MR versus Pentax K-3 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are using at the time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the SZ-30MR and the K-3 II.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-30MR and K-3 II is 89 and 59 respectively.

Generally, it is hard to envision the contrast in sensor measurements purely by researching specs. The visual below might give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the SZ-30MR and K-3 II.

All in all, both the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SZ-30MR having a smaller sensor will make shooting bokeh harder and the Pentax K-3 II will render greater detail with its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older SZ-30MR will be behind in sensor tech.