Olympus E-510 vs Olympus SH-3

Let's take a deeper look at the Olympus E-510 vs Olympus SH-3, former being a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are built by Olympus. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-510 (10MP) and SH-3 (16MP) and the E-510 (Four Thirds) and SH-3 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor measurements.

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The E-510 was introduced 9 years prior to the SH-3 and that is quite a large difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-510 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a short overview of how the E-510 scores versus the SH-3 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus E-510 & Olympus Stylus SH-3. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-510 Gallery & Olympus SH-3 Gallery.

For those who are looking to lug around your camera often, you will have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-510 provides outside dimensions of 136mm x 92mm x 68mm (5.4" x 3.6" x 2.7") having a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) and the Olympus SH-3 has dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-510 vs Olympus SH-3 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you use at the time. Below is the front view measurement comparison of the E-510 and the SH-3.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-510 and SH-3 is 69 and 88 respectively.

Quite often, its tough to envision the contrast between sensor measurements purely by reviewing a spec sheet. The visual underneath might offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the E-510 and SH-3.

Clearly, the 2 cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-510 with its larger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF easier and the Olympus SH-3 will deliver greater detail using its extra 6MP. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos a little more aggressively. The older E-510 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.