Olympus XZ-1 vs Pentax K-S1

Let's look more closely at the Olympus XZ-1 and Pentax K-S1, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Advanced DSLR by rivals Olympus and Pentax. There exists a huge gap between the sensor resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and K-S1 (20MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and K-S1 (APS-C) offer different sensor measurements.

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The XZ-1 was brought out 4 years earlier than the K-S1 and that is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-S1 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a complete comparison, here is a short highlight of how the XZ-1 scores versus the K-S1 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus XZ-1 and Pentax K-S1. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery and Pentax K-S1 Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry your camera frequently, you are going to need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus XZ-1 comes with external measurements 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-S1 has proportions of 121mm x 93mm x 70mm (4.8" x 3.7" x 2.8") along with a weight of 558 grams (1.23 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus XZ-1 and Pentax K-S1 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you choose during that time. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the XZ-1 and the K-S1.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the XZ-1 and K-S1 is 88 and 69 respectively.

More often than not, it is difficult to imagine the gap between sensor sizing simply by checking a spec sheet. The graphic here should offer you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the XZ-1 and K-S1.

Clearly, each of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The XZ-1 due to its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF more challenging and the Pentax K-S1 will resolve extra detail having its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop images a bit more aggressively. The older XZ-1 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.