Pentax K-7 vs Olympus PEN E-P2

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax K-7 and the Olympus PEN E-P2, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Pentax K-7 was introduced in October 2009 and Olympus PEN E-P2 was introduced in April 2010. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax K-7 over Olympus PEN E-P2.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus PEN E-P2 over Pentax K-7.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Pentax K-7 and Olympus PEN E-P2 have 3.0" Fixed screens with 921k dot and 230k dot resolutions respectively.

Viewfinder

Pentax K-7 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. It has a 100% coverage and 0.92x (0.61x 35mm equivalent) magnification.Olympus PEN E-P2 does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic VF-2 can be attached.

Pentax K-7 features a 15 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.4 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 365 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 2,000 and expands to 100 - 6,400 in boosted mode. Olympus PEN E-P2 features a 12 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Pentax K-7 is equipped with PRIME II processor and can take pictures up to 4672 x 3104 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3936 x 2592, 3072 x 2048, 1728 x 1152 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Olympus PEN E-P2 is equipped with TruePic V processor and can take pictures up to 4032 x 3024 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3200 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Pentax K-7 has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount and Olympus PEN E-P2 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Pentax K-7 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Olympus PEN E-P2 its crop factor is equal to 2x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Pentax K-7 has an HDMI and Olympus PEN E-P2 has a Mini type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax K-7 comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 980 shots and Olympus PEN E-P2 comes with BLS-1 battery pack with battery life of 300 shots.

External Storage Slots

Cameras have a single SD/SDHC card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax K-7, and up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-P2. Pentax K-7 can shoot continuously up to 5.2 fps. Olympus PEN E-P2 can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Olympus PEN E-P2 ranges from 0 to +18 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Pentax K-7 and ±3 EV range on Olympus PEN E-P2. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax K-7 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus PEN E-P2.

Flash

Pentax K-7 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. Olympus PEN E-P2 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on both cameras.

Pentax K-7 body has dimensions of 131 x 97 x 73 mm (5.16 x 3.82 x 2.87") and Olympus PEN E-P2 body has dimensions of 121 x 70 x 36 mm (4.76 x 2.76 x 1.42"). Pentax K-7 weighs 750 g (1.65 lb / 26.46 oz) and Olympus PEN E-P2 weighs 355 g (0.78 lb / 12.52 oz).

Pentax K-7

Olympus PEN E-P2

131 mm

97 mm

121 mm

70 mm

97 mm

70 mm

73 mm

36 mm