Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A57

Below is a comprehensive review of the Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A57, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the E-P3 (12MP) and A57 (16MP) and the E-P3 (Four Thirds) and A57 (APS-C) possess different sensor dimensions.

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The E-P3 was unveiled 13 months prior to the A57 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A57 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a simple summation of how the E-P3 matches up versus the A57 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-P3 & Sony SLT-A57. The full galleries are provided at Olympus E-P3 Gallery & Sony A57 Gallery.

When you are going to lug around your camera regularly, you will need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-P3 has got outer measurements 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 A57 has dimensions of 132mm x 98mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 618 grams (1.36 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A57 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are using at the time. Below is the front view sizing comparison of the E-P3 compared to the A57.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-P3 and A57 is 86 and 64 respectively.

Normally, it is very hard to visualize the contrast between sensor measurements purely by looking at specifications. The photograph below should give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the E-P3 and A57.

Plainly, both the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-P3 with its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF more difficult and the Sony A57 will give you greater detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older E-P3 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.