Olympus 9000 vs Pentax K-5

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Olympus 9000 and Pentax K-5, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the 9000 (12MP) and K-5 (16MP) and the 9000 (1/2.3") and K-5 (APS-C) provide totally different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The 9000 was brought out 19 months before the K-5 which makes them a generation away from one another. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus 9000 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-5 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving into a complete comparison, here is a simple summation of how the 9000 matches up against the K-5 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus 9000 & Pentax K-5. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus 9000 Gallery & Pentax K-5 Gallery.

If you are going to carry around your camera regularly, you have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus 9000 offers physical dimensions of 96mm x 60mm x 31mm (3.8" x 2.4" x 1.2") having a weight of 225 grams (0.50 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-5 has measurements of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") along with a weight of 740 grams (1.63 lbs).

Examine the Olympus 9000 and Pentax K-5 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are using at that moment. Underneath is a front view measurement comparison of the 9000 and the K-5.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the 9000 and K-5 is 92 and 60 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to envision the gap in sensor sizes just by seeing specs. The image below should give you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the 9000 and K-5.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The 9000 due to its smaller sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field harder and the Pentax K-5 will show greater detail having its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop shots more aggressively. The more aged 9000 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.