Pentax KF vs Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax KF and the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, 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 KF was introduced in November 2022 and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II was introduced in September 2016. 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 KF over Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II over Pentax KF.

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 KF and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II have 3.0" Fully Articulated screens with 1,037k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes cameras selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Pentax KF has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderOlympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II has a built-in Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Pentax KF features a 24.24 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 102,400. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II features a 20.3 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.4 x 13 mm and a total area of 169 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 25,600 and expands to 64 - 25,600 in boosted mode.

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 KF is equipped with PRIME MII processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 3072, 3072 x 2048, 1920 x 1280 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is equipped with TruePic VIII processor and can take pictures up to 5184 x 3888 resolution.

Lens Mount

Pentax KF has Pentax K_AF2 lens mount and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Pentax KF 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 OM-D E-M1 Mark II 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.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on either of the cameras. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (4.5 stops of compensation in Pentax KF and 5.5 stops of compensation in Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II). 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.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Pentax KF has a Mini HDMI and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax KF comes with D-LI109 battery pack with battery life of 410 shots and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II comes with BLH-1 battery pack with battery life of 350 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax KF has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II has two card slots - one for Single Slot: SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I).

Shutter

Pentax KF has Electronic shutter. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/6000 sec on Pentax KF, and up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. Pentax KF can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II can shoot continuously up to 60.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 15.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Focusing

Pentax KF has 11 (9 cross-type) focusing points and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II has 121 focusing points. Pentax KF has detection range from -3 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Pentax KF and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II range from 0 to +22 EV and -2 to +20 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Pentax KF and ±5 EV range on Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax KF and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II.

Flash

Pentax KF has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or Wireless connection. Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II 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 Pentax KF and 1/250 sec on Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II.

Pentax KF body has dimensions of 126 x 93 x 74 mm (4.94 x 3.66 x 2.91") and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II body has dimensions of 134 x 91 x 67 mm (5.28 x 3.58 x 2.64"). Pentax KF weighs 688 g (1.52 lb / 24.27 oz) and Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II weighs 574 g (1.27 lb / 20.25 oz).

Pentax KF

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

126 mm

93 mm

134 mm

91 mm

93 mm

91 mm

74 mm

67 mm