Olympus SH-3 vs Pentax ist DL2

Let's take a closer look at the Olympus SH-3 and Pentax ist DL2, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by brands Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap among the image resolutions of the SH-3 (16MP) and ist DL2 (6MP) and the SH-3 (1/2.3") and ist DL2 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor dimensions.

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The SH-3 was released 10 years later than the ist DL2 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera and the Pentax ist DL2 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going into a thorough comparison, here is a simple overview of how the SH-3 matches up versus the ist DL2 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus SH-3 & Pentax ist DL2. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus SH-3 Gallery & Pentax ist DL2 Gallery.

In case you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus SH-3 enjoys exterior dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs) and the Pentax ist DL2 has proportions of 125mm x 93mm x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6") accompanied by a weight of 565 grams (1.25 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus SH-3 and Pentax ist DL2 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are using during that time. Following is a front view size comparison of the SH-3 against the ist DL2.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SH-3 and ist DL2 is 88 and 69 respectively.

More often than not, its hard to see the gap in sensor measurements simply by checking out technical specs. The graphic below will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the SH-3 and ist DL2.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The SH-3 because of its smaller sensor will make achieving shallower DOF more challenging and the Olympus SH-3 will show extra detail as a result of its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop shots way more aggressively. The younger SH-3 will have an advantage when it comes to sensor technology.