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Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3

Portability
88
Imaging
40
Features
53
Overall
45
Olympus Stylus SH-1 front
 
Pentax K-3 front
Portability
59
Imaging
65
Features
85
Overall
73

Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 Key Specs

Olympus SH-1
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 271g - 109 x 63 x 42mm
  • Revealed March 2014
  • Replacement is Olympus SH-2
Pentax K-3
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Released April 2014
  • Replacement is Pentax K-3 II
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Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 Overview

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.

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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.

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Reasons to pick Olympus SH-1 over the Pentax K-3

 SH-1 K-3 
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 over the Olympus SH-1

 K-3 SH-1 
Focus manually More exact focus
Display dimension3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k460kCrisper display (+577k dot)

Common features in the Olympus SH-1 and Pentax K-3

 SH-1 K-3 
ReleasedMarch 2014April 2014Same generation
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen

Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 size comparison

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

Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 top view buttons comparison

Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 sensor size comparison

Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SH-1 Portrait photography advice
Pentax K-3 Portrait photography advice
37
good megapixels (16MP)
provides face detection focus
lack of manual focus
no external flash support
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
79
has manual focus
good MP (24MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
features face detection focusing
delivers RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus SH-1 as a Street photography camera
Pentax K-3 as a Street photography camera
64
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
includes touch focus
lighter than others in class (271g)
no moving screen
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
weather sealing
great ISO range (51,200)
fixed screen
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SH-1 Sports photography highlights
Pentax K-3 Sports photography highlights
51
incredible zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
provides tracking autofocus
better than average battery power (380 shots)
no shutter priority mode
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect auto focus
76
high shutter speed (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (24 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
features tracking autofocus
weather sealing
comes with phase detect AF
not so great battery life (560 shots)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SH-1 Travel photography features
Pentax K-3 Travel photography features
74
better than average battery power (380 per charge)
lighter than others in class (271g)
includes touch focus
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
quite wide (25mm)
long reach (600mm)
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
60
weather sealing
good MP (24 megapixels)
flash built-in
not so great battery life (560 CIPA)
does not offer selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SH-1 Landscape photography info
Pentax K-3 Landscape photography info
49
quite wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (16MP)
better than average battery power (380 per charge)
lack of manual focus
can't switch lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
77
has manual focus
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
good sized screen (3.2 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (24MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
doesnt have low pass filter
great ISO range (51,200)
delivers RAW formats
weather sealing
2 card slots
not so great battery life (560 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SH-1 Vlogging advice
Pentax K-3 Vlogging advice
37
quite wide (25mm)
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detection focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
has external mic socket
lighter than others in class (271g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
display is not selfie friendly
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detection focusing
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external microphone support
does not offer selfie friendly display
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Olympus SH-1 vs Pentax K-3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SH-1 and Pentax K-3
 Olympus Stylus SH-1Pentax K-3
General Information
Brand Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus Stylus SH-1 Pentax K-3
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Advanced DSLR
Revealed 2014-03-31 2014-04-10
Physical type Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Powered by TruePic VII Prime III
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 3:2
Highest Possible resolution 4608 x 3456 6016 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 6400 51200
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points - 27
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens zoom range 25-600mm (24.0x) -
Largest aperture f/3.0-6.9 -
Macro focusing range 3cm -
Number of lenses - 151
Crop factor 5.8 1.5
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 3.2 inch
Display resolution 460k dots 1,037k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display tech - TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 30s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000s 1/8000s
Continuous shutter rate 12.0fps 8.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance - 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash options - Auto, on, off, red-eye, slow sync, slow sync + red-eye, trailing curtain sync, high speed, wireless, manual
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize - 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 271 grams (0.60 lbs) 800 grams (1.76 lbs)
Dimensions 109 x 63 x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 80
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.7
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 1216
Other
Battery life 380 pictures 560 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID LI-92B D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD, SDHC, SDXC, Internal Memory Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One Dual
Cost at release $349 $639