Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3

Below, we are evaluating the Olympus SH-1 and Pentax K-3, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a sizeable gap among the sensor resolutions of the SH-1 (16MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the SH-1 (1/2.3") and K-3 (APS-C) possess totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The SH-1 was unveiled very close to the K-3 which means that they are of a similar generation. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus SH-1 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving through a in-depth comparison, below is a short view of how the SH-1 grades vs the K-3 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus Stylus SH-1 and Pentax K-3. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus SH-1 Gallery and Pentax K-3 Gallery.

In case you're intending to travel with your camera often, you will have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus SH-1 comes with outer measurements of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") and a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-3 has sizing of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") and a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus SH-1 and Pentax K-3 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are working with at the time. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the SH-1 compared to the K-3.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SH-1 and K-3 is 88 and 59 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to visualise the difference in sensor dimensions purely by looking through specs. The pic underneath will give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the SH-1 and K-3.

All in all, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The SH-1 having a smaller sensor will make shooting shallower depth of field trickier and the Pentax K-3 will result in more detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos somewhat more aggressively.