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Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II

Portability
88
Imaging
35
Features
51
Overall
41
Olympus XZ-1 front
 
Pentax K-3 II front
Portability
59
Imaging
66
Features
84
Overall
73

Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II Key Specs

Olympus XZ-1
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/1.63" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-112mm (F1.8-2.5) lens
  • 275g - 111 x 65 x 42mm
  • Released January 2011
Pentax K-3 II
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3.2" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Pentax KAF2 Mount
  • 800g - 131 x 100 x 77mm
  • Announced April 2015
  • Old Model is Pentax K-3
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Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II Overview

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.

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Reasons to pick Olympus XZ-1 over the Pentax K-3 II

 XZ-1 K-3 II 

Reasons to pick Pentax K-3 II over the Olympus XZ-1

 K-3 II XZ-1 
AnnouncedApril 2015January 2011More modern by 51 months
Screen dimensions3.2"3"Bigger screen (+0.2")
Screen resolution1037k614kCrisper screen (+423k dot)

Common features in the Olympus XZ-1 and Pentax K-3 II

 XZ-1 K-3 II 
Manually focus Very accurate focus
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch screen Lack of Touch screen

Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II size comparison

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

Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II top view buttons comparison

Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II sensor size comparison

Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Photography Glossary

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Portrait photography info
Pentax K-3 II Portrait photography info
45
manual focus
has face detect focusing
exports RAW formats
MP count low (10 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.63")
79
focusing manually
good resolution (24 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
offers face detect autofocus
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 as a Street photography camera
Pentax K-3 II as a Street photography camera
59
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW formats
no articulating screen
sensor size is tiny (1/1.63")
heavier than others in class (275g)
69
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
weather sealing
good ISO range (51,200)
no moving screen
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus XZ-1
Sports photography with Pentax K-3 II
38
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has tracking focus
great battery power (320 per charge)
continuous shooting slow (2.0 fps)
MP count low (10 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.63")
lacks phase detect AF
76
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (24MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
offers tracking focus
weather sealing
comes with phase detect autofocus
not so great battery (720 per charge)
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Travel Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Travel photography factors
Pentax K-3 II Travel photography factors
62
great battery power (320 shots)
flash built-in
pretty wide (28mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
missing Time Lapse function
heavier than others in class (275 grams)
MP count low (10MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
56
weather sealing
good resolution (24MP)
not so great battery (720 shots)
display is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus XZ-1 Landscape photography highlights
Pentax K-3 II Landscape photography highlights
54
manual focus
pretty wide (28mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW formats
great battery power (320 shots)
can't change lenses (fixed lens mount)
MP count low (10MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/1.63")
missing Time Lapse function
78
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Pentax KAF2 mount)
nice screen size (3.2 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (24 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
doesnt have low pass filter
good ISO range (51,200)
saves RAW formats
weather sealing
has dual storage slots
not so great battery (720 CIPA)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus XZ-1
Vlogging with Pentax K-3 II
31
pretty wide (28mm)
very good maximum aperture (f1.8)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detect focusing
screen is not selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing mic port
heavier than others in class (275 grams)
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detect autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does have mic jack
display is not selfie friendly
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Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-3 II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus XZ-1 and Pentax K-3 II
 Olympus XZ-1Pentax K-3 II
General Information
Company Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus XZ-1 Pentax K-3 II
Category Small Sensor Compact Advanced DSLR
Released 2011-01-26 2015-04-23
Body design Compact Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic V Prime III
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/1.63" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 8.07 x 5.56mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 44.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2
Maximum resolution 3664 x 2752 6016 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 6400 51200
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 11 27
Cross type focus points - 25
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Pentax KAF2
Lens zoom range 28-112mm (4.0x) -
Maximal aperture f/1.8-2.5 -
Macro focusing range 1cm -
Available lenses - 151
Crop factor 4.5 1.5
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3" 3.2"
Resolution of display 614k dot 1,037k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display technology OLED -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.64x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/8000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 2.0fps 8.3fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 8.60 m (ISO 800) no built-in flash
Flash settings 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)
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync - 1/180 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p)
Maximum video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Optional
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 275 gr (0.61 pounds) 800 gr (1.76 pounds)
Physical dimensions 111 x 65 x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") 131 x 100 x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 34 80
DXO Color Depth rating 18.8 23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.4 13.6
DXO Low light rating 117 1106
Other
Battery life 320 images 720 images
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID Li-50B D-LI90
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes ( 2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots Single Two
Pricing at launch $567 $829