Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 II

Lets look more closely at the Olympus E-3 versus Sony RX100 II, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and RX100 II (20MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and RX100 II (1") have totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-3 was announced 6 years before the RX100 II which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX100 II being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a in depth comparison, here is a short view of how the E-3 matches up vs the RX100 II in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

The following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-3 Gallery & Sony RX100 II Gallery.

For those who are going to travel with your camera frequently, you need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-3 features exterior dimensions of 142mm x 116mm x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") having a weight of 890 grams (1.96 lbs) while the Sony RX100 II has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 38mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.5") with a weight of 281 grams (0.62 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-3 versus Sony RX100 II in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have attached at that time. Underneath is a front view dimension comparison of the E-3 vs the RX100 II.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and RX100 II is 56 and 89 respectively.

In many cases, it is very tough to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions just by looking at a spec sheet. The image below will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-3 and RX100 II.

Clearly, the two cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-3 having a larger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Sony RX100 II will give you extra detail with its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop pics more aggressively. The more aged E-3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.