Olympus E-M5 vs Olympus E-P3

Its time to look a little more closely at the Olympus E-M5 versus Olympus E-P3, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and they are both built by Olympus. There is a substantial difference between the resolutions of the E-M5 (16MP) and E-P3 (12MP) but they come with the same exact sensor dimensions (Four Thirds).

Photography Glossary

The E-M5 was manufactured 9 months after the E-P3 and they are of a similar age. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-M5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a quick summary of how the E-M5 scores versus the E-P3 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus OM-D E-M5 & Olympus PEN E-P3. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-M5 Gallery & Olympus E-P3 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and size. The Olympus E-M5 has got external measurements of 122mm x 89mm x 43mm (4.8" x 3.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 425 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Olympus E-P3 has specifications of 122mm x 69mm x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") along with a weight of 369 grams (0.81 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-M5 versus Olympus E-P3 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you select at the time. Below is the front view measurement comparison of the E-M5 versus the E-P3.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-M5 and E-P3 is 81 and 86 respectively.

In many cases, it's tough to visualise the contrast between sensor dimensions simply by reading through specs. The pic underneath should give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-M5 and E-P3.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing but not the same resolution. You can anticipate the Olympus E-M5 to give more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop pics a little more aggressively. The more recent E-M5 will have an advantage with regard to sensor tech.