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Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12

Portability
56
Imaging
44
Features
56
Overall
48
Olympus E-3 front
 
Olympus SZ-12 front
Portability
89
Imaging
37
Features
36
Overall
36

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 Key Specs

Olympus E-3
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.5" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 890g - 142 x 116 x 75mm
  • Introduced February 2008
  • Replaced the Olympus E-1
  • Updated by Olympus E-5
Olympus SZ-12
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Released January 2012
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 Overview

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are created by Olympus. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and SZ-12 (14MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and SZ-12 (1/2.3") have totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-3 was brought out 4 years before the SZ-12 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SZ-12 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a in depth comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the E-3 grades vs the SZ-12 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Olympus SZ-12

 E-3 SZ-12 
Focus manually Very precise focusing
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-12 over the Olympus E-3

 SZ-12 E-3 
ReleasedJanuary 2012February 2008More recent by 47 months
Screen size3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Olympus SZ-12

 E-3 SZ-12 
Touch friendly screen No Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you will have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-3 has physical measurements of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") with a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) whilst the Olympus SZ-12 has specifications of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") and a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have attached at the time. Following is a front view proportions comparison of the E-3 vs the SZ-12.

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-3 and SZ-12 is 56 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it's tough to envision the gap between sensor measurements merely by checking specs. The visual here may offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-3 and SZ-12.

As you can plainly see, both of the cameras come with different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-3 featuring a bigger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Olympus SZ-12 will give you more detail having its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a good deal more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-3
Portrait photography with Olympus SZ-12
56
has manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
33
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
offers face detect focus
focusing manually not possible
lack of manual mode
can't use external flash
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-3 Street photography details
Olympus SZ-12 Street photography details
69
screen articulates
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
weather proofing
60
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than average (226 grams)
screen does not articulate
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-3 as a Sports photography camera
Olympus SZ-12 as a Sports photography camera
57
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
weather proofing
has phase detect auto focus
max fps low (5.0 frames/s)
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
40
great zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
offers tracking focus
very slow continuous shooting (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
not so great battery (220 per charge)
has no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-3 as a Travel photography camera
Olympus SZ-12 as a Travel photography camera
55
weather proofing
flash built-in
display is selfie friendly
does not have Time Lapse function
sensor resolution low (10MP)
65
lighter than average (226 grams)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
pretty wide (25mm)
great reach (600mm)
does not have Timelapse recording
not so great battery (220 CIPA)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-3
Landscape photography with Olympus SZ-12
56
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
weather proofing
tiny screen (2.5 inches)
sensor resolution low (10 megapixels)
does not have Time Lapse function
40
pretty wide (25mm)
screen size is decent (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
lack of manual mode
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
not so great battery (220 CIPA)
does not have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-3 Vlogging info
Olympus SZ-12 Vlogging info
18
no video
31
pretty wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers face detect focus
lighter than average (226g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 resolution)
does not have microphone port
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Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-3 and Olympus SZ-12
 Olympus E-3Olympus SZ-12
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus E-3 Olympus SZ-12
Category Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2008-02-20 2012-01-10
Body design Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 14MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 -
Maximum resolution 3648 x 2736 4288 x 3216
Maximum native ISO 3200 1600
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 11 -
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Total lenses 45 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fully Articulated Fixed Type
Screen size 2.5 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 230k dot 460k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech - TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 4s
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000s 1/1700s
Continuous shooting speed 5.0 frames per second 1.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 13.00 m -
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1280x720
Video format - MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 890g (1.96 pounds) 226g (0.50 pounds)
Physical dimensions 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.6 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.5 not tested
DXO Low light rating 571 not tested
Other
Battery life - 220 images
Type of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots 1 1
Launch pricing $670 $350