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Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3

Portability
91
Imaging
41
Features
42
Overall
41
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 front
 
Pentax K-3 front
Portability
59
Imaging
65
Features
85
Overall
73

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 Key Specs

Olympus TG-860
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 21-105mm (F3.5-5.7) lens
  • 224g - 110 x 64 x 28mm
  • Launched February 2015
  • Successor is Olympus TG-870
Pentax K-3
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Announced April 2014
  • Updated by Pentax K-3 II
Photography Glossary

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 Overview

Here is a extensive comparison of the Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3, former being a Waterproof while the other is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a substantial difference between the sensor resolutions of the TG-860 (16MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the TG-860 (1/2.3") and K-3 (APS-C) feature different sensor measurements.

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The TG-860 was released 11 months later than the K-3 so they are both of a similar age. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus TG-860 being a Ultracompact camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief summation of how the TG-860 scores against the K-3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus TG-860 over the Pentax K-3

 TG-860 K-3 
AnnouncedFebruary 2015April 2014Fresher by 11 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 over the Olympus TG-860

 K-3 TG-860 
Manual focus More precise focusing
Display dimension3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k460kSharper display (+577k dot)

Common features in the Olympus TG-860 and Pentax K-3

 TG-860 K-3 
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen
Touch display Neither comes with Touch display

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 Physical Comparison

If you're looking to carry your camera often, you'll need to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus TG-860 comes with exterior measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") with a weight of 224 grams (0.49 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 has sizing of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") along with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Compare the Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you select at the time. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the TG-860 against the K-3.

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the TG-860 and K-3 is 91 and 59 respectively.

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 top view buttons comparison

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it's hard to visualize the gap between sensor sizing purely by reading through specifications. The photograph here should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the TG-860 and K-3.

Plainly, both of these cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The TG-860 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF harder and the Pentax K-3 will resolve extra detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will help you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The newer TG-860 should have an edge in sensor innovation.

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 sensor size comparison

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus TG-860 as a Portrait photography camera
Pentax K-3 as a Portrait photography camera
36
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
provides face detection focus
lack of manual focus
manual exposure not possible
cannot use external flash
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
79
you can focus manually
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
provides face detect focus
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus TG-860 as a Street photography camera
Pentax K-3 as a Street photography camera
69
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
environment sealing
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
69
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
weather proofing
great high ISO (51,200)
screen is fixed
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Sports Comparison

Olympus TG-860 Sports photography features
Pentax K-3 Sports photography features
49
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
provides tracking autofocus
environment sealing
no shutter priority mode
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect auto focus
76
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
provides tracking focus
weather proofing
comes with phase detect auto focus
not so great battery (560 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus TG-860 Travel photography highlights
Pentax K-3 Travel photography highlights
71
environment sealing
decent megapixels (16MP)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (21mm)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
60
weather proofing
decent megapixels (24MP)
has built in flash
not so great battery (560 shots)
screen is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus TG-860 as a Landscape photography camera
Pentax K-3 as a Landscape photography camera
48
reasonably wide (21mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (16 megapixels)
environment sealing
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
manual exposure not possible
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
77
you can focus manually
change lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen size is good (3.2 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
does not have anti-alias filter
great high ISO (51,200)
saves RAW formats
weather proofing
2 card slots
not so great battery (560 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus TG-860
Vlogging with Pentax K-3
33
reasonably wide (21mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detection focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
does not have external mic port
34
image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detect focus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have microphone support
screen is not selfie friendly
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Olympus TG-860 vs Pentax K-3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus TG-860 and Pentax K-3
 Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860Pentax K-3
General Information
Brand Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860 Pentax K-3
Type Waterproof Advanced DSLR
Launched 2015-02-06 2014-04-10
Physical type Ultracompact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic VII Prime III
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Full resolution 4608 x 3456 6016 x 4000
Max native ISO 6400 51200
Minimum native ISO 125 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points - 27
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens zoom range 21-105mm (5.0x) -
Maximum aperture f/3.5-5.7 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Total lenses - 151
Crop factor 5.8 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inch 3.2 inch
Screen resolution 460k dots 1,037k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen tech - TFT LCD monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000s 1/8000s
Continuous shooting rate 7.0 frames per second 8.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 4.00 m (at ISO 1600) 13.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash settings Auto, redeye reduction, fill flash, off, LED illuminator Auto, on, off, red-eye, slow sync, slow sync + red-eye, trailing curtain sync, high speed, wireless, manual
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize - 1/180s
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p), 1280 x 720 (60p), 640 x 480 (60p) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS Yes Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 224 gr (0.49 lbs) 800 gr (1.76 lbs)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 28mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.1") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 80
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.7
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.4
DXO Low light rating not tested 1216
Other
Battery life 300 images 560 images
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID Li-50B D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, custom) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots One Two
Pricing at launch $279 $639