Olympus E-3 vs Sony NEX-3

Below is a in-depth review of the Olympus E-3 versus Sony NEX-3, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and NEX-3 (14MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and NEX-3 (APS-C) use totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-3 was launched 3 years prior to the NEX-3 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the E-3 scores versus the NEX-3 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-3 & Sony Alpha NEX-3. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Sony NEX-3 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to lug around your camera, you are going to need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-3 has outside measurements of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") with a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) while the Sony NEX-3 has dimensions of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-3 versus Sony NEX-3 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have chosen at that moment. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-3 against the NEX-3.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the E-3 and NEX-3 is 56 and 89 respectively.

Often, it's tough to visualise the gap between sensor measurements merely by reviewing a spec sheet. The visual here might provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-3 and NEX-3.

As you can see, the two cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-3 featuring a tinier sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony NEX-3 will offer greater detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures far more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be behind in sensor technology.