Olympus E-3 vs Sony HX80

On this page, we will be evaluating the Olympus E-3 vs Sony HX80, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference between the image resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and HX80 (18MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and HX80 (1/2.3") offer different sensor size.

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The E-3 was unveiled 9 years earlier than the HX80 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony HX80 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a detailed comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the E-3 grades versus the HX80 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Sony HX80 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to carry your camera regularly, you will have to factor in its weight and volume. The Olympus E-3 provides outside dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") and a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) and the Sony HX80 has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 245 grams (0.54 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-3 vs Sony HX80 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have attached at that time. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the E-3 vs the HX80.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and HX80 is 56 and 91 respectively.

Usually, it can be difficult to picture the contrast between sensor sizing only by checking technical specs. The graphic below will provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-3 and HX80.

As you can tell, each of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-3 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Sony HX80 will give you more detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will help you crop photographs more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be behind in sensor innovation.