Olympus E-450 vs Sony NEX-3

Below is a in-depth analysis of the Olympus E-450 versus Sony NEX-3, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the resolutions of the E-450 (10MP) and NEX-3 (14MP) and the E-450 (Four Thirds) and NEX-3 (APS-C) use totally different sensor size.

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The E-450 was introduced 14 months earlier than the NEX-3 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-450 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving straight into a complete comparison, below is a quick synopsis of how the E-450 scores vs the NEX-3 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus E-450 & Sony Alpha NEX-3. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-450 Gallery & Sony NEX-3 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera often, you will want to consider its weight and size. The Olympus E-450 has outside measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") having a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) and the Sony NEX-3 has specifications of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-450 versus Sony NEX-3 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you select at the time. The following is the front view size comparison of the E-450 compared to the NEX-3.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-450 and NEX-3 is 77 and 89 respectively.

Sometimes, it is difficult to see the difference between sensor measurements merely by reading through a spec sheet. The graphic here might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-450 and NEX-3.

As you can see, both of those cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-450 having a tinier sensor will make getting shallower DOF more challenging and the Sony NEX-3 will give more detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop photos far more aggressively. The older E-450 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.