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Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870

Portability
56
Imaging
44
Features
56
Overall
48
Olympus E-3 front
 
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870 front
Portability
91
Imaging
41
Features
46
Overall
43

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 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 Max Shutter
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 890g - 142 x 116 x 75mm
  • Introduced February 2008
  • Replaced the Olympus E-1
  • Successor is Olympus E-5
Olympus TG-870
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 6400 (Raise to 12800)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 21-105mm (F3.5-5.7) lens
  • 221g - 113 x 64 x 28mm
  • Revealed January 2016
  • Previous Model is Olympus TG-860
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 Overview

The following is a detailed assessment of the Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870, one is a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Ultracompact and both are sold by Olympus. There is a huge difference among the image resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and TG-870 (16MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and TG-870 (1/2.3") offer different sensor sizing.

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The E-3 was manufactured 8 years earlier than the TG-870 which is a fairly significant gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus TG-870 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before going into a thorough comparison, here is a short introduction of how the E-3 matches up vs the TG-870 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Olympus TG-870

 E-3 TG-870 
Manually focus Very accurate focusing
Display typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating display
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Olympus TG-870 over the Olympus E-3

 TG-870 E-3 
RevealedJanuary 2016February 2008Newer by 95 months
Display size3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution921k230kSharper display (+691k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Olympus TG-870

 E-3 TG-870 
Touch friendly display Neither contains Touch friendly display

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 Physical Comparison

In case you're going to travel with your camera regularly, you have to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-3 has got physical dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") along with a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) whilst the Olympus TG-870 has specifications of 113mm x 64mm x 28mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.1") and a weight of 221 grams (0.49 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have at that time. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the E-3 vs the TG-870.

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 size comparison

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and TG-870 is 56 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 Sensor Comparison

Often, it is very tough to imagine the difference in sensor dimensions merely by viewing specs. The picture here should provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-3 and TG-870.

All in all, both of the cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-3 featuring a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Olympus TG-870 will provide you with more detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop pics way more aggressively. The more aged E-3 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-3 Portrait photography factors
Olympus TG-870 Portrait photography factors
56
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
36
MP count decent (16MP)
provides face detect autofocus
focusing manually not possible
no manual mode
external flash not possible
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-3
Street photography with Olympus TG-870
69
screen articulates fully
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
65
screen tilts
has image stabilization (Optical)
weather proof
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
more heavy than competition (221g)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-3 Sports photography highlights
Olympus TG-870 Sports photography highlights
57
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
weather sealing
supports phase detect autofocus
low frames per second (5.0 frames per second)
megapixel count low (10MP)
51
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
provides tracking focus
weather proof
better than average battery pack (300 CIPA)
lack of shutter priority mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-3
Travel photography with Olympus TG-870
55
weather sealing
built-in flash
display is selfie friendly
no Timelapse recording
megapixel count low (10MP)
69
better than average battery pack (300 shots)
weather proof
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (21mm)
more heavy than competition (221g)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
slow max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-3 Landscape photography info
Olympus TG-870 Landscape photography info
56
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
small screen (2.5")
megapixel count low (10MP)
no Timelapse recording
50
reasonably wide (21mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
weather proof
better than average battery pack (300 shots)
focusing manually not possible
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.5)
no manual mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-3 Vlogging highlights
Olympus TG-870 Vlogging highlights
18
no video recording
32
reasonably wide (21mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detect autofocus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
slow max aperture (f3.5)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
lack of microphone jack
more heavy than competition (221 grams)
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Olympus E-3 vs Olympus TG-870 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-3 and Olympus TG-870
 Olympus E-3Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus E-3 Olympus Stylus Tough TG-870
Category Advanced DSLR Ultracompact
Introduced 2008-02-20 2016-01-06
Body design Mid-size SLR Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III TruePic VII
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
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 10 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Maximum native ISO 3200 6400
Maximum enhanced ISO - 12800
Min native ISO 100 125
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 11 -
Lens
Lens support Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 21-105mm (5.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.5-5.7
Macro focusing range - 1cm
Total lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fully Articulated Tilting
Screen sizing 2.5" 3"
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.58x -
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 4s
Max shutter speed 1/8000s 1/2000s
Continuous shutter speed 5.0 frames/s 7.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 13.00 m 4.00 m (at ISO 1600)
Flash settings Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, redeye reduction, fill flash, off, LED illuminator
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash sync 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60p), 1280 x 720 (60p), 640 x 480 (60p)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 890g (1.96 lb) 221g (0.49 lb)
Physical dimensions 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") 113 x 64 x 28mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall 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 - 300 pictures
Battery format - Battery Pack
Battery ID - Li-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, custom)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Cost at release $670 $280