Olympus E-M1 vs Panasonic S3

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-M1 and Panasonic S3, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-M1 (16MP) and the S3 (14MP) is pretty similar but the E-M1 (Four Thirds) and S3 (1/2.3") posses different sensor dimensions.

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The E-M1 was launched 2 years later than the S3 and that is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-M1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera.

Before we go right into a full comparison, here is a brief overview of how the E-M1 grades versus the S3 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus OM-D E-M1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M1 Gallery & Panasonic S3 Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera regularly, you should factor in its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-M1 provides outside measurements of 130mm x 94mm x 63mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 2.5") having a weight of 497 grams (1.10 lbs) whilst the Panasonic S3 has dimensions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") with a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs).

See the Olympus E-M1 and Panasonic S3 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you select at that time. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the E-M1 against the S3.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-M1 and S3 is 71 and 96 respectively.

In many cases, it is tough to imagine the difference between sensor measurements only by going over specs. The graphic below will provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-M1 and S3.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-M1 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Olympus E-M1 will offer more detail utilizing its extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The more modern E-M1 provides an edge with regard to sensor technology.