Olympus 8000 vs Pentax K-500

Below, we will be reviewing the Olympus 8000 and Pentax K-500, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Pentax. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the 8000 (12MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the 8000 (1/2.3") and K-500 (APS-C) use totally different sensor dimensions.

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The 8000 was introduced 5 years earlier than the K-500 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus 8000 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight into a detailed comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the 8000 matches up against the K-500 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 & Pentax K-500. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus 8000 Gallery & Pentax K-500 Gallery.

For those who are going to carry your camera often, you will want to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus 8000 features exterior measurements of 95mm x 62mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.4" x 0.9") with a weight of 182 grams (0.40 lbs) and the Pentax K-500 has measurements of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") having a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus 8000 and Pentax K-500 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the 8000 versus the K-500.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the 8000 and K-500 is 94 and 64 respectively.

In many cases, it can be hard to envision the gap between sensor sizing simply by reading through a spec sheet. The graphic below might offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the 8000 and K-500.

Clearly, both of those cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The 8000 having a tinier sensor will make getting shallower DOF more difficult and the Pentax K-500 will give extra detail using its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older 8000 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.