Olympus SZ-30MR vs Pentax K-x

Lets look a little more closely at the Olympus SZ-30MR and Pentax K-x, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the SZ-30MR (16MP) and K-x (12MP) and the SZ-30MR (1/2.3") and K-x (APS-C) come with totally different sensor measurements.

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The SZ-30MR was manufactured 15 months later than the K-x making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SZ-30MR being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-x being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go in to a comprehensive comparison, below is a simple summary of how the SZ-30MR matches up versus the K-x with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus SZ-30MR & Pentax K-x. The entire galleries are available at Olympus SZ-30MR Gallery & Pentax K-x Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry your camera frequently, you will need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus SZ-30MR offers physical dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") having a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Pentax K-x has proportions of 123mm x 92mm x 68mm (4.8" x 3.6" x 2.7") and a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs).

Check out the Olympus SZ-30MR and Pentax K-x in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you select at that time. Below is the front view physical size comparison of the SZ-30MR against the K-x.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the SZ-30MR and K-x is 89 and 69 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to visualise the difference between sensor sizing simply by reading specs. The visual underneath might offer you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the SZ-30MR and K-x.

All in all, each of these cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The SZ-30MR because of its tinier sensor will make getting shallow depth of field trickier and the Olympus SZ-30MR will offer you extra detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The newer SZ-30MR is going to have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.