Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-S2

Below is a thorough overview of the Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-S2, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There is a substantial difference among the resolutions of the VH-515 (12MP) and K-S2 (20MP) and the VH-515 (1/2.3") and K-S2 (APS-C) posses totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The VH-515 was brought out 3 years prior to the K-S2 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus VH-515 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-S2 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving into a full comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the VH-515 grades vs the K-S2 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VH-515 & Pentax K-S2. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus VH-515 Gallery & Pentax K-S2 Gallery.

When you are looking to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus VH-515 has outer measurements of 102mm x 60mm x 21mm (4.0" x 2.4" x 0.8") and a weight of 152 grams (0.34 lbs) and the Pentax K-S2 has measurements of 123mm x 91mm x 73mm (4.8" x 3.6" x 2.9") accompanied by a weight of 678 grams (1.49 lbs).

Look at the Olympus VH-515 vs Pentax K-S2 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at the time. Following is a front view scale comparison of the VH-515 compared to the K-S2.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the VH-515 and K-S2 is 95 and 64 respectively.

Often, it's tough to envision the contrast in sensor measurements purely by looking through specs. The photograph here should offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the VH-515 and K-S2.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The VH-515 featuring a smaller sensor will make shooting shallower DOF more challenging and the Pentax K-S2 will provide you with extra detail having its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The older VH-515 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.