Olympus E-P3 vs Sony QX30

Let's look a little more closely at the Olympus E-P3 vs Sony QX30, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Lens-style by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference between the sensor resolutions of the E-P3 (12MP) and QX30 (20MP) and the E-P3 (Four Thirds) and QX30 (1/2.3") possess totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The E-P3 was unveiled 4 years prior to the QX30 which is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony QX30 being a Lens-style camera.

Before diving through a full comparison, below is a short summary of how the E-P3 grades against the QX30 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-P3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX30. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-P3 Gallery & Sony QX30 Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry around your camera frequently, you're going to have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-P3 comes with external measurements of 122mm x 69mm x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") with a weight of 369 grams (0.81 lbs) while the Sony QX30 has dimensions of 68mm x 65mm x 58mm (2.7" x 2.6" x 2.3") accompanied by a weight of 193 grams (0.43 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-P3 vs Sony QX30 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have attached during that time. The following is the front view measurements comparison of the E-P3 versus the QX30.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the E-P3 and QX30 is 86 and 91 respectively.

Usually, it can be hard to visualise the gap between sensor sizes simply by going over specifications. The image below might offer you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-P3 and QX30.

Plainly, both of these cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The E-P3 with its larger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Sony QX30 will offer you more detail having an extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop images a little more aggressively. The more aged E-P3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.