Olympus VH-410 vs Pentax ist DL2

Below is a extended assessment of the Olympus VH-410 and Pentax ist DL2, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There is a significant difference between the image resolutions of the VH-410 (16MP) and ist DL2 (6MP) and the VH-410 (1/2.3") and ist DL2 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The VH-410 was introduced 6 years later than the ist DL2 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VH-410 being a Compact camera and the Pentax ist DL2 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before diving through a thorough comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the VH-410 grades vs the ist DL2 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VH-410 and Pentax ist DL2. The whole galleries are available at Olympus VH-410 Gallery and Pentax ist DL2 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera often, you're going to have to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus VH-410 offers physical measurements of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") along with a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) and the Pentax ist DL2 has proportions of 125mm x 93mm x 66mm (4.9" x 3.7" x 2.6") along with a weight of 565 grams (1.25 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus VH-410 and Pentax ist DL2 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you choose at that moment. Below is the front view scale comparison of the VH-410 against the ist DL2.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the VH-410 and ist DL2 is 95 and 69 respectively.

In many cases, it can be tough to visualise the difference between sensor measurements simply by looking at technical specs. The graphic below might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the VH-410 and ist DL2.

As you can tell, both of those cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The VH-410 having a tinier sensor will make shooting shallow DOF tougher and the Olympus VH-410 will give more detail using its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The more modern VH-410 will have an advantage in sensor tech.