Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II

On this page, we will be matching up the Olympus XZ-1 versus Pentax K-3 II, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced DSLR by companies Olympus and Pentax. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and K-3 II (24MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and K-3 II (APS-C) posses totally different sensor sizing.

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The XZ-1 was unveiled 5 years before the K-3 II which is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-3 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before going into a detailed comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the XZ-1 grades vs the K-3 II with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus XZ-1 & Pentax K-3 II. The full galleries are available at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Pentax K-3 II Gallery.

In case you're aiming to carry around your camera, you'll need to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus XZ-1 comes with outer dimensions of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-3 II has measurements of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") with a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus XZ-1 versus Pentax K-3 II in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the XZ-1 and the K-3 II.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the XZ-1 and K-3 II is 88 and 59 respectively.

Oftentimes, its tough to see the difference between sensor sizes merely by checking technical specs. The pic below will help give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the XZ-1 and K-3 II.

As you can tell, each of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The XZ-1 having a tinier sensor will make getting bokeh harder and the Pentax K-3 II will give you more detail having an extra 14 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more aged XZ-1 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.