Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII
56 Imaging
44 Features
56 Overall
48


88 Imaging
54 Features
78 Overall
63
Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Fully Articulated Screen
- ISO 100 - 3200
- Sensor based Image Stabilization
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 890g - 142 x 116 x 75mm
- Revealed February 2008
- Superseded the Olympus E-1
- Replacement is Olympus E-5
(Full Review)
- 20MP - 1" Sensor
- 3" Tilting Screen
- ISO 125 - 12800
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 3840 x 2160 video
- 24-200mm (F2.8-4.5) lens
- 302g - 102 x 58 x 43mm
- Revealed July 2019
- Superseded the Sony RX100 VI

Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Overview
In this write-up, we will be matching up the Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-3 (10MP) and RX100 VII (20MP) and the E-3 (Four Thirds) and RX100 VII (1") come with different sensor sizes.

The E-3 was released 12 years earlier than the RX100 VII and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX100 VII being a Large Sensor Compact camera.
Before getting in to a full comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-3 matches up versus the RX100 VII with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Gallery
Below is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus E-3 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-3 Gallery and Sony RX100 VII Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-3 over the Sony RX100 VII
E-3 | RX100 VII | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen type | Fully Articulated | ![]() | Tilting | Fully Articulating screen |
Reasons to pick Sony RX100 VII over the Olympus E-3
RX100 VII | E-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Revealed | July 2019 | ![]() | February 2008 | Fresher by 139 months |
Screen sizing | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Bigger screen (+0.5") |
Screen resolution | 921k | ![]() | 230k | Sharper screen (+691k dot) |
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Quickly navigate |
Common features in the Olympus E-3 and Sony RX100 VII
E-3 | RX100 VII | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Manual focus | ![]() | Dial precise focusing | ||
Selfie screen | ![]() | Both good for selfies |
Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Physical Comparison
In case you're going to carry your camera often, you're going to have to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-3 provides physical dimensions 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 RX100 VII has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 43mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 302 grams (0.67 lbs).
Analyze the Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are utilising at the time. Following is the front view sizing comparison of the E-3 compared to the RX100 VII.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-3 and RX100 VII is 56 and 88 respectively.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Sensor Comparison
Sometimes, its hard to visualize the gap between sensor sizing just by reviewing a spec sheet. The photograph here will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-3 and RX100 VII.
As you can see, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-3 because of its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony RX100 VII will deliver more detail as a result of its extra 10MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures far more aggressively. The older E-3 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-3 vs Sony RX100 VII Specifications
Olympus E-3 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand | Olympus | Sony |
Model type | Olympus E-3 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Large Sensor Compact |
Revealed | 2008-02-20 | 2019-07-25 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Large Sensor Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Powered by | TruePic III | Bionz X |
Sensor type | CMOS | BSI-CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | 1" |
Sensor measurements | 17.3 x 13mm | 13.2 x 8.8mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 116.2mm² |
Sensor resolution | 10 megapixels | 20 megapixels |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Maximum resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 5472 x 3648 |
Maximum native ISO | 3200 | 12800 |
Lowest native ISO | 100 | 125 |
RAW images | ||
Lowest boosted ISO | - | 64 |
Autofocusing | ||
Manual focusing | ||
Touch to focus | ||
Continuous AF | ||
AF single | ||
Tracking AF | ||
AF selectice | ||
Center weighted AF | ||
AF multi area | ||
Live view AF | ||
Face detection focusing | ||
Contract detection focusing | ||
Phase detection focusing | ||
Total focus points | 11 | - |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Micro Four Thirds | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 24-200mm (8.3x) |
Max aperture | - | f/2.8-4.5 |
Macro focusing distance | - | 8cm |
Number of lenses | 45 | - |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 2.7 |
Screen | ||
Screen type | Fully Articulated | Tilting |
Screen diagonal | 2.5" | 3" |
Screen resolution | 230k dots | 921k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch functionality | ||
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | Optical (pentaprism) | Electronic |
Viewfinder resolution | - | 2,360k dots |
Viewfinder coverage | 100 percent | 100 percent |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.58x | 0.59x |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60 seconds | 30 seconds |
Highest shutter speed | 1/8000 seconds | 1/2000 seconds |
Highest silent shutter speed | - | 1/32000 seconds |
Continuous shooting rate | 5.0fps | 20.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Custom WB | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash distance | 13.00 m | 5.90 m (at Auto ISO) |
Flash modes | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | - |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Highest flash synchronize | 1/250 seconds | 1/2000 seconds |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM |
Maximum video resolution | None | 3840x2160 |
Video format | - | MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S |
Microphone port | ||
Headphone port | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Built-In |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery & USB charger |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 890 gr (1.96 lb) | 302 gr (0.67 lb) |
Dimensions | 142 x 116 x 75mm (5.6" x 4.6" x 3.0") | 102 x 58 x 43mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.7") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around rating | 56 | 63 |
DXO Color Depth rating | 21.6 | 21.8 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 10.5 | 12.4 |
DXO Low light rating | 571 | 418 |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 260 photos |
Battery type | - | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | - | NP-BX1 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo |
Card slots | Single | Single |
Launch pricing | $670 | $1,298 |