Olympus E-3 vs Sony A230

Following is a detailed overview of the Olympus E-3 and Sony A230, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. The sensor resolution of the E-3 (10MP) and the A230 (10MP) is very similar but the E-3 (Four Thirds) and A230 (APS-C) provide different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-3 was announced 15 months prior to the A230 making them a generation away from one another. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-3 scores vs the A230 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-3 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Sony A230 Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry around your camera often, you'll need to think about its weight and volume. The Olympus E-3 has external measurements of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) and the Sony A230 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") having a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-3 and Sony A230 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the E-3 versus the A230.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-3 and A230 is 56 and 69 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to visualize the difference between sensor sizes simply by going over technical specs. The pic below will help offer you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-3 and A230.

As you can tell, the two cameras come with the identical megapixels but different sensor sizes. The E-3 has got the tinier sensor which should make obtaining bokeh harder. The more aged E-3 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.