Olympus XZ-2 iHS vs Pentax K-01

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus XZ-2 iHS vs Pentax K-01, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by competitors Olympus and Pentax. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the XZ-2 iHS (12MP) and K-01 (16MP) and the XZ-2 iHS (1/1.7") and K-01 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor measurements.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The XZ-2 iHS was released 7 months later than the K-01 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus XZ-2 iHS being a Compact camera and the Pentax K-01 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a brief view of how the XZ-2 iHS scores versus the K-01 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus XZ-2 iHS & Pentax K-01. The complete galleries are available at Olympus XZ-2 iHS Gallery & Pentax K-01 Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and volume. The Olympus XZ-2 iHS provides external dimensions of 113mm x 65mm x 48mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.9") along with a weight of 346 grams (0.76 lbs) while the Pentax K-01 has sizing of 122mm x 79mm x 58mm (4.8" x 3.1" x 2.3") along with a weight of 561 grams (1.24 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus XZ-2 iHS vs Pentax K-01 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are using at that time. Underneath is a front view overall size comparison of the XZ-2 iHS compared to the K-01.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the XZ-2 iHS and K-01 is 85 and 76 respectively.

More often than not, it is tough to visualise the difference between sensor measurements just by looking at technical specs. The photograph underneath should provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the XZ-2 iHS and K-01.

As you have seen, both of those cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The XZ-2 iHS because of its tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF more challenging and the Pentax K-01 will give greater detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will enable you to crop pics more aggressively. The fresher XZ-2 iHS will have a benefit in sensor tech.