Olympus E-3 vs Sony A900
56 Imaging
44 Features
56 Overall
48


54 Imaging
66 Features
62 Overall
64
Olympus E-3 vs Sony A900 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fully Articulated Display
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 890g - 142 x 116 x 75mm
- Introduced February 2008
- Replaced the Olympus E-1
- Updated by Olympus E-5
(Full Review)
- 25MP - Full frame Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- No Video
- Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
- 895g - 156 x 117 x 82mm
- Announced October 2008
- Successor is Sony A99

Olympus E-3 vs Sony A900 Overview
Lets look closer at the Olympus E-3 and Sony A900, both Advanced DSLR digital cameras by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and A900 (25MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and A900 (Full frame) possess different sensor sizing.

The E-3 was released 8 months earlier than the A900 so they are both of a similar age. The two cameras offer the identical body type (Mid-size SLR).
Before going in to a in depth comparison, below is a brief overview of how the E-3 matches up vs the A900 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony A900 Gallery
Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-3 & Sony Alpha DSLR-A900. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Sony A900 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Sony A900
E-3 | A900 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Fixed | Fully Articulating screen |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Easy selfies |
Reasons to pick Sony A900 over the Olympus E-3
A900 | E-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Announced | October 2008 | ![]() | February 2008 | Fresher by 8 months |
Screen sizing | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.5") |
Screen resolution | 922k | ![]() | 230k | Sharper screen (+692k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Sony A900
E-3 | A900 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | Very accurate focusing | ||
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Neither provides Touch friendly screen |
Olympus E-3 vs Sony A900 Physical Comparison
For those who are aiming to carry your camera often, you'll need to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-3 provides external measurements of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") having a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) and the Sony A900 has proportions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") and a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs).
Check the Olympus E-3 and Sony A900 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you choose at the time. Here is the front view scale comparison of the E-3 compared to the A900.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and A900 is 56 and 54 respectively.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony A900 Sensor Comparison
Quite often, it is very hard to imagine the difference between sensor sizing only by going over specs. The photograph underneath might give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-3 and A900.
All in all, both cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-3 due to its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony A900 will offer greater detail as a result of its extra 15 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures far more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony A900 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Sony A900 Specifications
Olympus E-3 | Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Company | Olympus | Sony |
Model type | Olympus E-3 | Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 |
Category | Advanced DSLR | Advanced DSLR |
Introduced | 2008-02-20 | 2008-10-22 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Mid-size SLR |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor | TruePic III | Bionz |
Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | Full frame |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 35.9 x 24mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 861.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 10 megapixels | 25 megapixels |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Highest resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 6048 x 4032 |
Highest native ISO | 3200 | 6400 |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW photos | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focusing | ||
AF touch | ||
Continuous AF | ||
Single AF | ||
Tracking AF | ||
AF selectice | ||
AF center weighted | ||
AF multi area | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detect AF | ||
Contract detect AF | ||
Phase detect AF | ||
Total focus points | 11 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | Sony/Minolta Alpha |
Available lenses | 45 | 143 |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 1 |
Screen | ||
Type of display | Fully Articulated | Fixed Type |
Display sizing | 2.5 inch | 3 inch |
Resolution of display | 230 thousand dots | 922 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch capability | ||
Display tech | - | TFT Xtra Fine color LCD |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | Optical (pentaprism) | Optical (pentaprism) |
Viewfinder coverage | 100% | 100% |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | 0.74x |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60 seconds | 30 seconds |
Highest shutter speed | 1/8000 seconds | 1/8000 seconds |
Continuous shooting rate | 5.0fps | 5.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Set WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Integrated flash | ||
Flash distance | 13.00 m | no built-in flash |
Flash settings | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless |
Hot shoe | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Highest flash synchronize | 1/250 seconds | 1/250 seconds |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Highest video resolution | None | None |
Microphone support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 890 gr (1.96 lb) | 895 gr (1.97 lb) |
Dimensions | 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") | 156 x 117 x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 56 | 79 |
DXO Color Depth rating | 21.6 | 23.7 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 10.5 | 12.3 |
DXO Low light rating | 571 | 1431 |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 880 photographs |
Battery style | - | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | - | NP-FM500H |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | Compact Flash (Type I or II), Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, UDMA Mode 5, Supports FAT12 / FAT16 / FAT32 |
Card slots | 1 | Two |
Cost at launch | $670 | $2,736 |