Clicky

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
36
Overall
40
Olympus E-420 front
 
Olympus Stylus SH-3 front
Portability
88
Imaging
41
Features
51
Overall
45

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 Key Specs

Olympus E-420
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 426g - 130 x 91 x 53mm
  • Announced June 2008
  • Replaced the Olympus E-410
Olympus SH-3
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 271g - 109 x 63 x 42mm
  • Introduced February 2016
  • Older Model is Olympus SH-2
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 Overview

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are offered by Olympus. There is a big difference between the resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and SH-3 (16MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and SH-3 (1/2.3") boast different sensor dimensions.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

The E-420 was released 8 years before the SH-3 and that is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a step-by-step comparison, here is a concise view of how the E-420 matches up against the SH-3 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-420 over the Olympus SH-3

 E-420 SH-3 
Manual focus Very accurate focusing

Reasons to pick Olympus SH-3 over the Olympus E-420

 SH-3 E-420 
IntroducedFebruary 2016June 2008Fresher by 92 months
Screen size3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Olympus SH-3

 E-420 SH-3 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 Physical Comparison

For those who are aiming to carry your camera frequently, you'll have to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-420 comes with outside dimensions of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") accompanied by a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Olympus SH-3 has dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are using at the time. Underneath is a front view size comparison of the E-420 and the SH-3.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the E-420 and SH-3 is 77 and 88 respectively.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it's hard to picture the contrast between sensor sizing simply by looking at technical specs. The visual below will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the E-420 and SH-3.

As you have seen, the two cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-420 due to its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Olympus SH-3 will give extra detail as a result of its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop shots way more aggressively. The older E-420 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-420 Portrait photography features
Olympus SH-3 Portrait photography features
56
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
44
megapixel count good (16MP)
comes with face detect focusing
saves RAW files
lack of manual focus
external flash not possible
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Street Comparison

Olympus E-420 Street photography info
Olympus SH-3 Street photography info
64
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
lighter than competition in class (426g)
screen is fixed
no image stabilization
70
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
saves RAW files
includes focus by touch
lighter than competitors (271 grams)
screen is fixed
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-420 Sports photography advice
Olympus SH-3 Sports photography advice
38
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
supports phase detect auto focus
max frames per second very slow (4.0 frames per second)
no image stabilization
megapixel count low (10MP)
bad battery life (500 CIPA)
51
great zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count good (16MP)
comes with tracking focus
better than average battery (380 shots)
no shutter priority mode
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect AF
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-420 Travel photography features
Olympus SH-3 Travel photography features
52
lighter than competition in class (426g)
flash built-in
doesn't have Time Lapse function
bad battery life (500 shots)
megapixel count low (10MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
74
better than average battery (380 CIPA)
lighter than competitors (271g)
includes focus by touch
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
quite wide (25mm)
very long zoom (600mm)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-420 Landscape photography advice
Olympus SH-3 Landscape photography advice
47
has manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
delivers RAW formats
screen is small (2.7")
no image stabilization
megapixel count low (10 megapixels)
bad battery life (500 per charge)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
55
quite wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
megapixel count good (16 megapixels)
saves RAW files
better than average battery (380 CIPA)
lack of manual focus
cannot switch lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-420 Vlogging info
Olympus SH-3 Vlogging info
9
no video
35
quite wide (25mm)
touchscreen functionality
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with face detect focusing
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
lighter than competitors (271g)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
lack of mic socket
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Olympus E-420 vs Olympus SH-3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-420 and Olympus SH-3
 Olympus E-420Olympus Stylus SH-3
General Information
Brand Name Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus E-420 Olympus Stylus SH-3
Class Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Announced 2008-06-23 2016-02-08
Physical type Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip TruePic III TruePic VII
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 3648 x 2736 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 1600 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 125
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Number of focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Macro focus distance - 3cm
Total lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 2.7" 3"
Display resolution 230k dots 460k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 60s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting rate 4.0 frames per second 11.5 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 8.30 m (at ISO 3200)
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, redeye reduction, fill-in, off
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/180s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 (15 fps), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution None 3840x2160
Video data format - H.264
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 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 426g (0.94 lbs) 271g (0.60 lbs)
Physical dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 109 x 63 x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 527 not tested
Other
Battery life 500 pictures 380 pictures
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model - LI-92B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card SD, SDHC, SDXC, Internal Memory
Card slots One One
Pricing at launch $999 $579