Clicky

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65

Portability
86
Imaging
47
Features
60
Overall
52
Olympus PEN E-P3 front
 
Sony SLT-A65 front
Portability
64
Imaging
62
Features
85
Overall
71

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 Key Specs

Olympus E-P3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 369g - 122 x 69 x 34mm
  • Launched August 2011
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-P2
  • Updated by Olympus E-P5
Sony A65
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Boost to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 622g - 132 x 97 x 81mm
  • Introduced November 2011
  • New Model is Sony A68
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 Overview

On this page, we will be evaluating the Olympus E-P3 and Sony A65, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap among the image resolutions of the E-P3 (12MP) and A65 (24MP) and the E-P3 (Four Thirds) and A65 (APS-C) offer different sensor dimensions.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

The E-P3 was launched 3 months before the A65 so they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-P3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A65 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a simple summary of how the E-P3 scores versus the A65 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

        

Reasons to pick Olympus E-P3 over the Sony A65

 E-P3 A65 
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony A65 over the Olympus E-P3

 A65 E-P3 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen resolution921k614kClearer screen (+307k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-P3 and Sony A65

 E-P3 A65 
IntroducedAugust 2011November 2011Same age
Focus manually Very accurate focusing
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen sizing

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 Physical Comparison

If you are planning to carry your camera often, you'll need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-P3 offers 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) and the Sony A65 has dimensions of 132mm x 97mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2") with a weight of 622 grams (1.37 lbs).

Look at the Olympus E-P3 and Sony A65 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you choose at that time. Underneath is a front view dimensions comparison of the E-P3 versus the A65.

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-P3 and A65 is 86 and 64 respectively.

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is tough to picture the contrast in sensor sizing just by seeing specifications. The visual underneath will give you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-P3 and A65.

Plainly, each of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-P3 due to its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF harder and the Sony A65 will provide greater detail utilizing its extra 12MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop shots more aggressively.

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Olympus E-P3
Portrait photography with Sony A65
60
manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
offers face detection focus
exports RAW formats
low resolution (12 megapixels)
77
manual focus
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with face detect focus
exports RAW formats
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus E-P3
Street photography with Sony A65
75
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
boasts touch to focus
no articulating screen
76
fully articulated screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-P3 Sports photography advice
Sony A65 Sports photography advice
48
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
offers tracking autofocus
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 fps)
low resolution (12 megapixels)
has no phase detect auto focus
81
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with tracking focus
supports phase detect auto focus
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-P3
Travel photography with Sony A65
59
boasts touch to focus
flash built-in
no Timelapse function
low resolution (12 megapixels)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
68
decent megapixels (24MP)
built-in flash
screen is selfie friendly
lack of Time Lapse recording
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-P3 Landscape photography highlights
Sony A65 Landscape photography highlights
64
manual focus
switch lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
good sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
low resolution (12MP)
no Timelapse function
74
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is decent (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
lack of Time Lapse recording
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-P3 as a Vlogging camera
Sony A65 as a Vlogging camera
35
touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection focus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
no external microphone jack
78
screen is selfie friendly
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detect focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
comes with mic jack
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-P3 vs Sony A65 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-P3 and Sony A65
 Olympus PEN E-P3Sony SLT-A65
General Information
Brand Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus PEN E-P3 Sony SLT-A65
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Launched 2011-08-17 2011-11-15
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic VI Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds APS-C
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 24MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4032 x 3024 6000 x 4000
Highest native ISO 12800 12800
Highest boosted ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 100 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 35 15
Cross type focus points - 3
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds Sony/Minolta Alpha
Available lenses 107 143
Focal length multiplier 2.1 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 614k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Screen technology 3:2 OLED with Anti-Fingerprint Coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.73x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 10.00 m (@ ISO 200) 10.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Wireless, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/180 seconds 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 369 grams (0.81 lbs) 622 grams (1.37 lbs)
Physical dimensions 122 x 69 x 34mm (4.8" x 2.7" x 1.3") 132 x 97 x 81mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 51 74
DXO Color Depth rating 20.8 23.4
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.1 12.6
DXO Low light rating 536 717
Other
Battery life 330 photographs 560 photographs
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC card SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Price at launch $0 $700