Olympus E-M1 III vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS

Following is a detailed analysis of the Olympus E-M1 III vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are built by Olympus. There exists a substantial gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-M1 III (20MP) and SZ-31MR iHS (16MP) and the E-M1 III (Four Thirds) and SZ-31MR iHS (1/2.3") offer different sensor dimensions.

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The E-M1 III was announced 8 years after the SZ-31MR iHS which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-M1 III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a full comparison, here is a brief summary of how the E-M1 III matches up vs the SZ-31MR iHS when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III & Olympus SZ-31MR iHS. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-M1 III Gallery & Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Gallery.

If you are aiming to carry around your camera regularly, you need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-M1 III provides external measurements of 134mm x 91mm x 69mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.7") accompanied by a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs) while the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS has measurements of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-M1 III vs Olympus SZ-31MR iHS in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have chosen at the time. Here is a front view scale comparison of the E-M1 III against the SZ-31MR iHS.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-M1 III and SZ-31MR iHS is 67 and 89 respectively.

More often than not, it is very difficult to picture the gap in sensor sizes simply by researching specs. The image below will help provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M1 III and SZ-31MR iHS.

All in all, each of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-M1 III with its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Olympus E-M1 III will render more detail with its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The newer E-M1 III provides an edge with regard to sensor innovation.