Olympus VR-340 vs Pentax K-70

Its time to examine more closely at the Olympus VR-340 and Pentax K-70, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a substantial gap between the sensor resolutions of the VR-340 (16MP) and K-70 (24MP) and the VR-340 (1/2.3") and K-70 (APS-C) come with different sensor sizing.

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The VR-340 was brought out 5 years before the K-70 and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus VR-340 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-70 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving through a thorough comparison, below is a concise synopsis of how the VR-340 scores against the K-70 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus VR-340 & Pentax K-70. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus VR-340 Gallery & Pentax K-70 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera frequently, you will have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus VR-340 enjoys external dimensions of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") with a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) and the Pentax K-70 has dimensions of 126mm x 93mm x 74mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 2.9") along with a weight of 688 grams (1.52 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus VR-340 and Pentax K-70 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you select at that moment. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the VR-340 versus the K-70.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the VR-340 and K-70 is 96 and 62 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to picture the gap between sensor measurements only by looking at technical specs. The graphic underneath may offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the VR-340 and K-70.

As you have seen, each of the cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The VR-340 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving bokeh trickier and the Pentax K-70 will give you more detail having its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots far more aggressively. The older VR-340 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.