Olympus E-3 vs Pentax E90

Its time to look more closely at the Olympus E-3 and Pentax E90, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by brands Olympus and Pentax. The resolution of the E-3 (10MP) and the E90 (10MP) is very well matched but the E-3 (Four Thirds) and E90 (1/2.3") boast different sensor sizes.

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The E-3 was announced 23 months before the E90 making them a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Pentax E90 being a Compact camera.

Before we go straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-3 matches up versus the E90 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-3 and Pentax Optio E90. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-3 Gallery and Pentax E90 Gallery.

If you're planning to carry your camera, you'll need to consider its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-3 has got outer dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) while the Pentax E90 has measurements of 102mm x 59mm x 25mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.0") with a weight of 145 grams (0.32 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-3 and Pentax E90 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have at that time. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the E-3 and the E90.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-3 and E90 is 56 and 94 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to visualize the gap between sensor sizing purely by looking at specifications. The photograph below should give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-3 and E90.

To sum up, both cameras have the same megapixel count but different sensor sizing. The E-3 provides the larger sensor which will make getting shallower depth of field simpler. The older E-3 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.