Olympus E-M1 III vs Sony A290

Below is a comprehensive review of the Olympus E-M1 III and Sony A290, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the image resolutions of the E-M1 III (20MP) and A290 (14MP) and the E-M1 III (Four Thirds) and A290 (APS-C) use different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-M1 III was introduced 9 years later than the A290 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M1 III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving in to a detailed comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-M1 III grades against the A290 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III & Sony Alpha DSLR-A290. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-M1 III Gallery & Sony A290 Gallery.

If you're intending to lug around your camera frequently, you have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-M1 III has external measurements of 134mm x 91mm x 69mm (5.3" x 3.6" x 2.7") along with a weight of 580 grams (1.28 lbs) whilst the Sony A290 has sizing of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") and a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

See the Olympus E-M1 III and Sony A290 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have at the time. The following is the front view proportions comparison of the E-M1 III compared to the A290.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M1 III and A290 is 67 and 66 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to imagine the gap between sensor measurements simply by checking a spec sheet. The visual underneath will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M1 III and A290.

Clearly, both of the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-M1 III using its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF more difficult and the Olympus E-M1 III will give more detail using its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop photos a little more aggressively. The more modern E-M1 III provides a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.