Olympus E-P3 vs Sony HX400V

Let's look more in depth at the Olympus E-P3 and Sony HX400V, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the E-P3 (12MP) and HX400V (20MP) and the E-P3 (Four Thirds) and HX400V (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizing.

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The E-P3 was manufactured 3 years before the HX400V and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony HX400V being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a brief synopsis of how the E-P3 matches up vs the HX400V with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-P3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-P3 Gallery & Sony HX400V Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry your camera often, you are going to need to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-P3 has physical dimensions of 122mm x 69mm x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") having a weight of 369 grams (0.81 lbs) whilst the Sony HX400V has sizing of 130mm x 93mm x 103mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.1") and a weight of 660 grams (1.46 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-P3 and Sony HX400V in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you select at that time. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the E-P3 and the HX400V.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P3 and HX400V is 86 and 62 respectively.

More often than not, it is very hard to visualize the gap in sensor sizing purely by viewing specs. The photograph below will help offer you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-P3 and HX400V.

All in all, both the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-P3 due to its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF easier and the Sony HX400V will result in extra detail due to its extra 8MP. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older E-P3 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.