Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax K100D

Below is a extensive review of the Olympus SH-3 versus Pentax K100D, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a crucial difference between the image resolutions of the SH-3 (16MP) and K100D (6MP) and the SH-3 (1/2.3") and K100D (APS-C) possess different sensor sizes.

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The SH-3 was introduced 9 years later than the K100D and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K100D being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go through a detailed comparison, below is a simple summation of how the SH-3 scores against the K100D when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus Stylus SH-3 and Pentax K100D. The whole galleries are available at Olympus SH-3 Gallery and Pentax K100D Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus SH-3 provides outer dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) and the Pentax K100D has sizing of 129mm x 93mm x 70mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.8") with a weight of 660 grams (1.46 lbs).

See the Olympus SH-3 versus Pentax K100D in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are employing at that moment. The following is the front view physical size comparison of the SH-3 compared to the K100D.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the SH-3 and K100D is 88 and 64 respectively.

In many cases, it is very tough to imagine the contrast between sensor measurements merely by reading through technical specs. The photograph here may provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the SH-3 and K100D.

As you can tell, each of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SH-3 having a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field more difficult and the Olympus SH-3 will resolve extra detail using its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics a little more aggressively. The more modern SH-3 should have a benefit in sensor tech.