Pentax Q10 vs Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Pentax Q10 and the Olympus OM-D E-M10 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 Q10 was introduced in September 2012 and Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II was introduced in August 2015. 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 Q10 over Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II over Pentax Q10.

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 Q10 and Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II have 3.0" screens with 460k dot and 1,040k dot resolutions respectively. Pentax Q10 has a Fixed screen Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Olympus OM-D E-M10 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-M10 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

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II has a built-in Electronic viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 1.23x (0.62x 35mm equivalent) magnification.Pentax Q10 does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional optical viewfinder can be attached.

Pentax Q10 features a 12.4 megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 28.1 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II features a 16.1 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 200 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 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 Q10 can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 2664, 4000 x 2248, 3456 x 2595, 3456 x 2304, 3456 x 1944, 2992 x 2992, 2688 x 2016, 2688 x 1792, 2688 x 1512, 2016 x 2016, 1920 x 1440, 1920 x 1280, 1440 x 1440 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II is equipped with TruePic VII processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution.

Lens Mount

Pentax Q10 has Pentax Q lens mount and Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to 1/2.3-inch sensor in Pentax Q10 its crop factor is equal to 5.6x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 5.6. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor in Olympus OM-D E-M10 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in 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.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II has a 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 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Pentax Q10 has a Mini Type C HDMI and Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax Q10 comes with D-LI68 battery pack with battery life of 270 shots and Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II comes with BLS-50 battery pack with battery life of 320 shots.

External Storage Slots

Pentax Q10 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Pentax Q10, and up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/4000 sec with mechanical shutter on Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. Pentax Q10 can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II ranges from -2 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Pentax Q10 and ±5 EV range on Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax Q10 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 7.00 m on Pentax Q10 and 5.80 m at ISO 100 on Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/2000 sec on Pentax Q10 and 1/250 sec on Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II.

Pentax Q10 body has dimensions of 102 x 58 x 34 mm (4.02 x 2.28 x 1.34") and Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II body has dimensions of 120 x 83 x 47 mm (4.72 x 3.27 x 1.85"). Pentax Q10 weighs 200 g (0.44 lb / 7.05 oz) and Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II weighs 390 g (0.86 lb / 13.76 oz).

Pentax Q10

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II

102 mm

58 mm

120 mm

83 mm

58 mm

83 mm

34 mm

47 mm