Olympus E-3 vs Olympus VG-160

Here is a detailed assessment of the Olympus E-3 vs Olympus VG-160, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both designed by Olympus. There is a substantial difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and VG-160 (14MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and VG-160 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizing.

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The E-3 was manufactured 4 years before the VG-160 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus VG-160 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a in depth comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the E-3 matches up versus the VG-160 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-3 & Olympus VG-160. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Olympus VG-160 Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry your camera frequently, you should factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-3 has got physical measurements of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") and a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) while the Olympus VG-160 has specifications of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-3 vs Olympus VG-160 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have at the time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the E-3 against the VG-160.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and VG-160 is 56 and 96 respectively.

Generally, it's tough to picture the difference in sensor sizing only by seeing specifications. The visual here may give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the E-3 and VG-160.

To sum up, each of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-3 due to its bigger sensor is going to make shooting bokeh simpler and the Olympus VG-160 will show more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures more aggressively. The older E-3 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.