Olympus E-P3 vs Panasonic SZ3

Lets look more in depth at the Olympus E-P3 versus Panasonic SZ3, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a considerable difference among the sensor resolutions of the E-P3 (12MP) and SZ3 (16MP) and the E-P3 (Four Thirds) and SZ3 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizes.

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The E-P3 was manufactured 16 months before the SZ3 making them a generation away from each other. Both cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ3 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a in-depth comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-P3 matches up vs the SZ3 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-P3 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ3. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-P3 Gallery & Panasonic SZ3 Gallery.

If you're planning to travel with your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-P3 has outer dimensions of 122mm x 69mm x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") and a weight of 369 grams (0.81 lbs) whilst the Panasonic SZ3 has sizing of 95mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 126 grams (0.28 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-P3 versus Panasonic SZ3 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are employing at that moment. Following is a front view scale comparison of the E-P3 vs the SZ3.

Considering size and weight, the portability score of the E-P3 and SZ3 is 86 and 96 respectively.

Generally, it is very hard to picture the gap in sensor dimensions purely by going through specifications. The pic below might give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-P3 and SZ3.

To sum up, the 2 cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-P3 featuring a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Panasonic SZ3 will show more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also help you crop pics a bit more aggressively. The more aged E-P3 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.