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Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3

Portability
86
Imaging
47
Features
42
Overall
45
Olympus PEN E-P1 front
 
Olympus Stylus SH-3 front
Portability
88
Imaging
41
Features
51
Overall
45

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 Key Specs

Olympus E-P1
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 355g - 121 x 70 x 36mm
  • Introduced July 2009
  • Updated by Olympus E-P2
Olympus SH-3
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 125 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 271g - 109 x 63 x 42mm
  • Introduced February 2016
  • Old Model is Olympus SH-2
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Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 Overview

Following is a extensive review of the Olympus E-P1 and Olympus SH-3, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are produced by Olympus. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the E-P1 (12MP) and SH-3 (16MP) and the E-P1 (Four Thirds) and SH-3 (1/2.3") offer different sensor dimensions.

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The E-P1 was manufactured 7 years prior to the SH-3 which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-P1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera.

Before delving into a step-by-step comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-P1 scores versus the SH-3 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-P1 over the Olympus SH-3

 E-P1 SH-3 
Manually focus Very exact focusing

Reasons to pick Olympus SH-3 over the Olympus E-P1

 SH-3 E-P1 
IntroducedFebruary 2016July 2009More modern by 79 months
Screen resolution460k230kSharper screen (+230k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Olympus E-P1 and Olympus SH-3

 E-P1 SH-3 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen size3"3"Same screen sizing
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 Physical Comparison

In case you're going to carry around your camera frequently, you need to factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-P1 has got outside dimensions of 121mm x 70mm x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 355 grams (0.78 lbs) and the Olympus SH-3 has proportions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-P1 and Olympus SH-3 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the E-P1 versus the SH-3.

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the E-P1 and SH-3 is 86 and 88 respectively.

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it can be tough to picture the difference between sensor sizes purely by going over technical specs. The picture underneath may give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-P1 and SH-3.

As you can tell, both of the cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-P1 due to its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field easier and the Olympus SH-3 will offer you more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop shots a good deal more aggressively. The more aged E-P1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-P1 Portrait photography information
Olympus SH-3 Portrait photography information
60
manual focus
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
provides face detection autofocus
supports RAW files
sensor resolution low (12MP)
44
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
has face detect autofocus
exports RAW files
lack of manual focus
cannot use external flash
very small sensor (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-P1 Street photography advice
Olympus SH-3 Street photography advice
74
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
screen is fixed
70
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
exports RAW files
features focus by touch
lighter than competition (271 grams)
fixed screen
very small sensor (1/2.3")
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-P1
Sports photography with Olympus SH-3
40
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
low fps (3.0 frames/s)
sensor resolution low (12MP)
bad battery pack (300 CIPA)
lack of phase detect autofocus
51
great zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
has tracking focus
good battery power (380 CIPA)
no shutter priority
very small sensor (1/2.3")
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-P1 Travel photography info
Olympus SH-3 Travel photography info
43
doesn't have Timelapse recording
bad battery pack (300 CIPA)
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
74
good battery power (380 CIPA)
lighter than competition (271 grams)
features focus by touch
good megapixels (16MP)
built-in flash
fairly wide (25mm)
long zoom (600mm)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-P1 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus SH-3 as a Landscape photography camera
60
manual focus
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is decent (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW files
sensor resolution low (12MP)
bad battery pack (300 shots)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
55
fairly wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good megapixels (16MP)
exports RAW files
good battery power (380 CIPA)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-P1
Vlogging with Olympus SH-3
29
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
provides face detection autofocus
screen isn't selfie friendly
low res video (1280 x 720 pxls)
doesn't have external microphone socket
35
fairly wide (25mm)
touchscreen enabled
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detect autofocus
high quality video (3840 x 2160 pixels)
lighter than competition (271 grams)
sluggish max aperture (f3.0)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
does not have microphone socket
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Olympus E-P1 vs Olympus SH-3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-P1 and Olympus SH-3
 Olympus PEN E-P1Olympus Stylus SH-3
General Information
Company Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus PEN E-P1 Olympus Stylus SH-3
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2009-07-29 2016-02-08
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic V TruePic VII
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4032 x 3024 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 6400 6400
Lowest native ISO 100 125
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 11 -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Macro focus distance - 3cm
Available lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of display 230 thousand dots 460 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech HyperCrystal LCD with AR(Anti-Reflective) coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 3.0 frames/s 11.5 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range no built-in flash 8.30 m (at ISO 3200)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, redeye reduction, fill-in, off
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/180 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 (15 fps), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 30p), 1280 x 720 (30p), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video data format Motion JPEG H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 355g (0.78 pounds) 271g (0.60 pounds)
Physical dimensions 121 x 70 x 36mm (4.8" x 2.8" x 1.4") 109 x 63 x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 55 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.4 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light score 536 not tested
Other
Battery life 300 photographs 380 photographs
Type of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-1 LI-92B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, custom)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC card SD, SDHC, SDXC, Internal Memory
Card slots 1 1
Price at launch $182 $579