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Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II

Portability
95
Imaging
36
Features
34
Overall
35
Olympus VH-515 front
 
Pentax K-3 II front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73

Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II Key Specs

Olympus VH-515
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 26-130mm (F2.8-6.5) lens
  • 152g - 102 x 60 x 21mm
  • Launched August 2012
Pentax K-3 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Revealed April 2015
  • Superseded the Pentax K-3
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Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II Overview

Here is a comprehensive review of the Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Advanced DSLR by brands Olympus and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the VH-515 (12MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the VH-515 (1/2.3") and K-3 II (APS-C) possess different sensor sizes.

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The VH-515 was announced 3 years prior to the K-3 II and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a short highlight of how the VH-515 matches up against the K-3 II with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VH-515 over the Pentax K-3 II

 VH-515 K-3 II 
Touch friendly display Easily navigate

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Olympus VH-515

 K-3 II VH-515 
RevealedApril 2015August 2012Fresher by 32 months
Manually focus More accurate focus
Display dimension3.2"3"Larger display (+0.2")
Display resolution1037k460kClearer display (+577k dot)

Common features in the Olympus VH-515 and Pentax K-3 II

 VH-515 K-3 II 
Display typeFixed Fixed Fixed display
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen

Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II Physical Comparison

If you're looking to carry your camera regularly, you should think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus VH-515 features outside dimensions of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") and a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) while the Pentax K-3 II has proportions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") having a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Check out the Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you have attached at that time. Here is the front view measurements comparison of the VH-515 compared to the K-3 II.

Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the VH-515 and K-3 II is 95 and 59 respectively.

Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II Sensor Comparison

Normally, its difficult to picture the contrast between sensor sizing purely by reading a spec sheet. The visual here will give you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the VH-515 and K-3 II.

Clearly, each of the cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The VH-515 with its tinier sensor is going to make shooting bokeh more difficult and the Pentax K-3 II will deliver more detail with its extra 12MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images much more aggressively. The older VH-515 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II sensor size comparison

Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Portrait photography details
Pentax K-3 II Portrait photography details
27
has face detect autofocus
focusing manually not possible
lack of manual mode
no external flash support
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
79
has manual focus
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
offers face detection autofocus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Street photography factors
Pentax K-3 II Street photography factors
62
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with focus by touch
no articulating screen
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW files
environment sealing
above average ISO range (51,200)
no articulating screen
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Sports photography info
Pentax K-3 II Sports photography info
32
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has tracking focus
slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
76
high shutter speed (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
offers tracking autofocus
environment sealing
supports phase detect autofocus
terrible battery (720 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Travel photography details
Pentax K-3 II Travel photography details
62
comes with focus by touch
has built in flash
relatively wide (26mm)
no Timelapse mode
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
display is not selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
56
environment sealing
megapixel count good (24MP)
terrible battery (720 per charge)
display isn't selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Landscape photography factors
Pentax K-3 II Landscape photography factors
37
relatively wide (26mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
lack of manual mode
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
no Timelapse mode
78
has manual focus
switch lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
screen is a good size (3.2 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
doesnt have anti aliasing filter
above average ISO range (51,200)
saves RAW files
environment sealing
two card slots
terrible battery (720 shots)
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VH-515 Vlogging information
Pentax K-3 II Vlogging information
35
relatively wide (26mm)
has touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detect autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.8)
display is not selfie friendly
no microphone support
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
comes with external microphone socket
display isn't selfie friendly
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Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-3 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VH-515 and Pentax K-3 II
 Olympus VH-515Pentax K-3 II
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Pentax
Model Olympus VH-515 Pentax K-3 II
Type Small Sensor Compact Advanced DSLR
Launched 2012-08-21 2015-04-23
Physical type Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Chip TruePic III+ Prime III
Sensor type BSI-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 12MP 24MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2
Maximum resolution 4608 x 3456 6016 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 1600 51200
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points - 27
Cross focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens focal range 26-130mm (5.0x) -
Max aperture f/2.8-6.5 -
Macro focus range 5cm -
Amount of lenses - 151
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1.5
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 3.2 inch
Display resolution 460 thousand dots 1,037 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/8000 secs
Continuous shooting rate 2.0 frames per sec 8.3 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 4.70 m no built-in flash
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On + Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync + Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, Wireless sync (available with dedicated external flash)
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize - 1/180 secs
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264 MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Optional
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 152 grams (0.34 pounds) 800 grams (1.76 pounds)
Dimensions 102 x 60 x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 80
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.6
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.6
DXO Low light score not tested 1106
Other
Battery life - 720 shots
Type of battery - Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Single Two
Price at launch $648 $829