Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-500

Let's look a little more in depth at the Olympus XZ-1 versus Pentax K-500, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a considerable gap among the image resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and K-500 (16MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and K-500 (APS-C) use totally different sensor measurements.

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The XZ-1 was released 3 years earlier than the K-500 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going straight into a thorough comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the XZ-1 grades versus the K-500 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus XZ-1 & Pentax K-500. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Pentax K-500 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry around your camera often, you have to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus XZ-1 comes with exterior measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) whilst the Pentax K-500 has specifications of 130mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 646 grams (1.42 lbs).

Examine the Olympus XZ-1 versus Pentax K-500 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have chosen during that time. The following is the front view dimensions comparison of the XZ-1 compared to the K-500.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the XZ-1 and K-500 is 88 and 64 respectively.

Quite often, it is difficult to envision the difference in sensor sizes purely by looking through specs. The pic below might offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the XZ-1 and K-500.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The XZ-1 due to its smaller sensor will make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Pentax K-500 will result in extra detail as a result of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics far more aggressively. The more aged XZ-1 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.