Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax K-3
88 Imaging
41 Features
51 Overall
45


59 Imaging
65 Features
85 Overall
73
Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax K-3 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Display
- ISO 125 - 6400
- Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
- 3840 x 2160 video
- 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
- 271g - 109 x 63 x 42mm
- Released February 2016
- Older Model is Olympus SH-2
(Full Review)
- 24MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3.2" Fixed Display
- ISO 100 - 51200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- No Anti-Alias Filter
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Pentax KAF2 Mount
- 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
- Released April 2014
- Renewed by Pentax K-3 II

Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax K-3 Overview
Here, we are analyzing the Olympus SH-3 versus Pentax K-3, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There exists a considerable gap among the sensor resolutions of the SH-3 (16MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the SH-3 (1/2.3") and K-3 (APS-C) have totally different sensor sizes.

The SH-3 was released 23 months later than the K-3 making them a generation apart from one another. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.
Before diving right into a in depth comparison, here is a short overview of how the SH-3 grades against the K-3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax K-3 Gallery
The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus SH-3 & Pentax K-3. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus SH-3 Gallery & Pentax K-3 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus SH-3 over the Pentax K-3
SH-3 | K-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | February 2016 | ![]() | April 2014 | More recent by 23 months |
Touch display | ![]() | Easily navigate |
Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 over the Olympus SH-3
K-3 | SH-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual focus | ![]() | Dial accurate focusing | ||
Display size | 3.2" | ![]() | 3" | Larger display (+0.2") |
Display resolution | 1037k | ![]() | 460k | Sharper display (+577k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus SH-3 and Pentax K-3
SH-3 | K-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Display type | Fixed | ![]() | Fixed | Fixed display |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Missing selfie screen |
Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax K-3 Physical Comparison
For anyone who is looking to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus SH-3 offers outer dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 has specifications of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") having a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).
Contrast the Olympus SH-3 versus Pentax K-3 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 are using at the time. Below is a front view over all size comparison of the SH-3 versus the K-3.

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

Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax K-3 Sensor Comparison
Sometimes, it is difficult to see the difference in sensor measurements simply by looking through technical specs. The visual below should provide you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SH-3 and K-3.
As you can tell, the 2 cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The SH-3 because of its smaller sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field trickier and the Pentax K-3 will render extra detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The newer SH-3 will have an edge when it comes to sensor innovation.

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


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax K-3 Specifications
Olympus Stylus SH-3 | Pentax K-3 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand | Olympus | Pentax |
Model type | Olympus Stylus SH-3 | Pentax K-3 |
Type | Small Sensor Superzoom | Advanced DSLR |
Released | 2016-02-08 | 2014-04-10 |
Body design | Compact | Mid-size SLR |
Sensor Information | ||
Chip | TruePic VII | Prime III |
Sensor type | BSI-CMOS | CMOS |
Sensor size | 1/2.3" | APS-C |
Sensor dimensions | 6.17 x 4.55mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
Sensor surface area | 28.1mm² | 366.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 16 megapixel | 24 megapixel |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 3:2 |
Max resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 6016 x 4000 |
Max native ISO | 6400 | 51200 |
Minimum native ISO | 125 | 100 |
RAW images | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Autofocus touch | ||
Autofocus continuous | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Autofocus selectice | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Multi area autofocus | ||
Live view autofocus | ||
Face detect autofocus | ||
Contract detect autofocus | ||
Phase detect autofocus | ||
Total focus points | - | 27 |
Cross type focus points | - | 25 |
Lens | ||
Lens support | fixed lens | Pentax KAF2 |
Lens zoom range | 25-600mm (24.0x) | - |
Highest aperture | f/3.0-6.9 | - |
Macro focusing range | 3cm | - |
Amount of lenses | - | 151 |
Crop factor | 5.8 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Range of display | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
Display size | 3 inch | 3.2 inch |
Resolution of display | 460 thousand dot | 1,037 thousand dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch display | ||
Display technology | - | TFT LCD monitor |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | None | Optical (pentaprism) |
Viewfinder coverage | - | 100% |
Viewfinder magnification | - | 0.64x |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 30s | 30s |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/2000s | 1/8000s |
Continuous shutter speed | 11.5fps | 8.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Custom white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash distance | 8.30 m (at ISO 3200) | 13.00 m (at ISO 100) |
Flash settings | Auto, redeye reduction, fill-in, off | Auto, on, off, red-eye, slow sync, slow sync + red-eye, trailing curtain sync, high speed, wireless, manual |
Hot shoe | ||
AE bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Fastest flash sync | - | 1/180s |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 3840 x 2160 (15 fps), 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) |
Max video resolution | 3840x2160 | 1920x1080 |
Video format | H.264 | MPEG-4, H.264 |
Mic jack | ||
Headphone jack | ||
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 seal | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 271g (0.60 lbs) | 800g (1.76 lbs) |
Physical 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 shots | 560 shots |
Battery form | 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 recording | ||
Type of storage | SD, SDHC, SDXC, Internal Memory | Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC |
Storage slots | 1 | 2 |
Pricing at release | $579 | $639 |