Olympus Tough-3000 vs Pentax K-5 IIs

Below is a detailed overview of the Olympus Tough-3000 and Pentax K-5 IIs, former being a Waterproof while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the Tough-3000 (12MP) and K-5 IIs (16MP) and the Tough-3000 (1/2.3") and K-5 IIs (APS-C) provide different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The Tough-3000 was manufactured 4 years earlier than the K-5 IIs and that is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus Tough-3000 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-5 IIs being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving right into a complete comparison, here is a short summary of how the Tough-3000 scores versus the K-5 IIs with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 & Pentax K-5 IIs. The entire galleries are available at Olympus Tough-3000 Gallery & Pentax K-5 IIs Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to lug around your camera, you're going to have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus Tough-3000 offers external measurements of 96mm x 65mm x 23mm (3.8" x 2.6" x 0.9") having a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-5 IIs has specifications of 131mm x 97mm x 73mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 2.9") along with a weight of 760 grams (1.68 lbs).

Examine the Olympus Tough-3000 and Pentax K-5 IIs in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are employing at that moment. Underneath is a front view sizing comparison of the Tough-3000 and the K-5 IIs.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the Tough-3000 and K-5 IIs is 94 and 60 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is hard to imagine the gap between sensor measurements only by reading technical specs. The visual below will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the Tough-3000 and K-5 IIs.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The Tough-3000 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF more challenging and the Pentax K-5 IIs will deliver greater detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also help you crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older Tough-3000 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.