Olympus E-3 vs Olympus SZ-12

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.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

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.

Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-3 & Olympus SZ-12. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Olympus SZ-12 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.