Olympus 1s vs Pentax K-500

On this page, we are evaluating the Olympus 1s versus Pentax K-500, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the 1s (12MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the 1s (1/1.7") and K-500 (APS-C) offer different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The 1s was brought out 17 months after the K-500 making them a generation away from one another. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus 1s being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple summary of how the 1s scores against the K-500 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus 1s & Pentax K-500. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus 1s Gallery & Pentax K-500 Gallery.

For those who are planning to travel with your camera, you're going to have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus 1s offers outside measurements of 116mm x 87mm x 57mm (4.6" x 3.4" x 2.2") accompanied by a weight of 402 grams (0.89 lbs) while the Pentax K-500 has sizing of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") with a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Examine the Olympus 1s versus Pentax K-500 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you select at that moment. Below is a front view dimensions comparison of the 1s versus the K-500.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the 1s and K-500 is 79 and 64 respectively.

More often than not, it's difficult to visualize the gap between sensor dimensions purely by reading a spec sheet. The pic here will offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the 1s and K-500.

As you can see, both of the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The 1s featuring a tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field trickier and the Pentax K-500 will offer you more detail having its extra 4MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The fresher 1s provides a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.