Olympus Tough-3000 vs Pentax MX-1

Below is a in-depth review of the Olympus Tough-3000 and Pentax MX-1, former being a Waterproof while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Pentax. The sensor resolution of the Tough-3000 (12MP) and the MX-1 (12MP) is relatively similar but the Tough-3000 (1/2.3") and MX-1 (1/1.7") offer totally different sensor sizes.

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The Tough-3000 was introduced 4 years before the MX-1 and that is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before delving straight to a full comparison, here is a simple view of how the Tough-3000 matches up vs the MX-1 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus Stylus Tough-3000 & Pentax MX-1. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus Tough-3000 Gallery & Pentax MX-1 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera, you'll have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus Tough-3000 offers external dimensions of 96mm x 65mm x 23mm (3.8" x 2.6" x 0.9") and a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs) while the Pentax MX-1 has sizing of 122mm x 61mm x 51mm (4.8" x 2.4" x 2.0") accompanied by a weight of 391 grams (0.86 lbs).

Check the Olympus Tough-3000 and Pentax MX-1 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at that moment. Below is a front view measurements comparison of the Tough-3000 against the MX-1.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the Tough-3000 and MX-1 is 94 and 84 respectively.

Generally, its difficult to envision the difference between sensor measurements purely by reading specs. The visual here will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the Tough-3000 and MX-1.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras come with the identical MP albeit not the same sensor measurements. The Tough-3000 has the tinier sensor which will make getting shallower depth of field more difficult. The older Tough-3000 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.