Olympus E-3 vs Panasonic FH3

The following is a extensive review of the Olympus E-3 versus Panasonic FH3, one is a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a huge gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and FH3 (14MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and FH3 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-3 was manufactured 22 months prior to the FH3 which makes them a generation away from one another. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Panasonic FH3 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a detailed comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the E-3 matches up versus the FH3 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-3 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH3. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-3 Gallery and Panasonic FH3 Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to travel with your camera, you'll need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-3 provides outside dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") with a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) and the Panasonic FH3 has proportions of 98mm x 55mm x 24mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 165 grams (0.36 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-3 versus Panasonic FH3 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have at the time. The following is a front view size comparison of the E-3 compared to the FH3.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-3 and FH3 is 56 and 94 respectively.

Sometimes, it is very tough to imagine the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by looking through technical specs. The picture here should give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-3 and FH3.

As you can tell, the two cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-3 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic FH3 will render more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures way more aggressively. The more aged E-3 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.