Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-3
65 Imaging
41 Features
40 Overall
40


89 Imaging
54 Features
55 Overall
54
Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-3 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 7MP - Four Thirds Sensor
- 2.5" Tilting Display
- ISO 100 - 400 (Bump to 1600)
- No Video
- Micro Four Thirds Mount
- 616g - 140 x 87 x 72mm
- Launched March 2006
- Additionally referred to as EVOLT E-330
- Superseded the Olympus E-300
- Newer Model is Olympus E-450
(Full Review)
- 14MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 200 - 12800
- 1280 x 720 video
- Sony E Mount
- 297g - 117 x 62 x 33mm
- Revealed June 2010
- Renewed by Sony NEX-C3

Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-3 Overview
On this page, we are comparing the Olympus E-330 versus Sony NEX-3, one is a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the E-330 (7MP) and NEX-3 (14MP) and the E-330 (Four Thirds) and NEX-3 (APS-C) boast different sensor measurements.

The E-330 was brought out 5 years before the NEX-3 which is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-330 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.
Before going into a step-by-step comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-330 grades vs the NEX-3 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-3 Gallery
Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-330 and Sony Alpha NEX-3. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-330 Gallery and Sony NEX-3 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Olympus E-330 over the Sony NEX-3
E-330 | NEX-3 |
---|
Reasons to pick Sony NEX-3 over the Olympus E-330
NEX-3 | E-330 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Revealed | June 2010 | ![]() | March 2006 | Newer by 51 months |
Display dimensions | 3" | ![]() | 2.5" | Larger display (+0.5") |
Display resolution | 920k | ![]() | 215k | Clearer display (+705k dot) |
Common features in the Olympus E-330 and Sony NEX-3
E-330 | NEX-3 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | Dial precise focusing | ||
Display type | Tilting | ![]() | Tilting | Tilting display |
Selfie screen | ![]() | No selfie screen | ||
Touch display | ![]() | No Touch display |
Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-3 Physical Comparison
For those who are planning to travel with your camera, you will need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-330 offers physical measurements of 140mm x 87mm x 72mm (5.5" x 3.4" x 2.8") with a weight of 616 grams (1.36 lbs) and the Sony NEX-3 has proportions of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs).
Examine the Olympus E-330 versus Sony NEX-3 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are working with at that time. Following is a front view over all size comparison of the E-330 versus the NEX-3.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-330 and NEX-3 is 65 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-3 Sensor Comparison
More often than not, its tough to visualize the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by seeing technical specs. The image here will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-330 and NEX-3.
As you have seen, each of these cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-330 due to its smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field more challenging and the Sony NEX-3 will produce more detail having its extra 7MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-330 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-3 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-330 vs Sony NEX-3 Specifications
Olympus E-330 | Sony Alpha NEX-3 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Brand | Olympus | Sony |
Model | Olympus E-330 | Sony Alpha NEX-3 |
Alternative name | EVOLT E-330 | - |
Class | Advanced DSLR | Entry-Level Mirrorless |
Launched | 2006-03-18 | 2010-06-07 |
Physical type | Mid-size SLR | Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Sensor Information | ||
Processor | - | Bionz |
Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
Sensor size | Four Thirds | APS-C |
Sensor dimensions | 17.3 x 13mm | 23.4 x 15.6mm |
Sensor surface area | 224.9mm² | 365.0mm² |
Sensor resolution | 7MP | 14MP |
Anti aliasing filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Full resolution | 3136 x 2352 | 4592 x 3056 |
Max native ISO | 400 | 12800 |
Max boosted ISO | 1600 | - |
Minimum native ISO | 100 | 200 |
RAW images | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch to focus | ||
Continuous autofocus | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Tracking autofocus | ||
Autofocus selectice | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Autofocus multi area | ||
Live view autofocus | ||
Face detect autofocus | ||
Contract detect autofocus | ||
Phase detect autofocus | ||
Number of focus points | 3 | 25 |
Lens | ||
Lens mounting type | Micro Four Thirds | Sony E |
Available lenses | 45 | 121 |
Crop factor | 2.1 | 1.5 |
Screen | ||
Type of display | Tilting | Tilting |
Display diagonal | 2.5 inch | 3 inch |
Display resolution | 215k dots | 920k dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch operation | ||
Display technology | - | TFT Xtra Fine LCD |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | Optical (pentamirror) | None |
Viewfinder coverage | 95 percent | - |
Viewfinder magnification | 0.47x | - |
Features | ||
Lowest shutter speed | 60s | 30s |
Highest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/4000s |
Continuous shooting rate | 3.0 frames per second | 7.0 frames per second |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manually set exposure | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Set white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Inbuilt flash | ||
Flash range | - | 12.00 m |
Flash settings | Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Highest flash synchronize | 1/180s | 1/160s |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment metering | ||
Average metering | ||
Spot metering | ||
Partial metering | ||
AF area metering | ||
Center weighted metering | ||
Video features | ||
Supported video resolutions | - | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) |
Max video resolution | None | 1280x720 |
Video file format | - | MPEG-4 |
Mic port | ||
Headphone port | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | None | Eye-Fi Connected |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 1.0 (1.5 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proof | ||
Dust proof | ||
Shock proof | ||
Crush proof | ||
Freeze proof | ||
Weight | 616g (1.36 pounds) | 297g (0.65 pounds) |
Physical dimensions | 140 x 87 x 72mm (5.5" x 3.4" x 2.8") | 117 x 62 x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO All around score | not tested | 68 |
DXO Color Depth score | not tested | 22.1 |
DXO Dynamic range score | not tested | 12.0 |
DXO Low light score | not tested | 830 |
Other | ||
Battery life | - | 330 shots |
Battery type | - | Battery Pack |
Battery model | - | NPFW50 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 12 sec) | Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images)) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Storage type | Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card | SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo |
Card slots | Single | Single |
Pricing at launch | $1,100 | $0 |