Olympus E-PL1 vs Panasonic FH3

In this article, we are evaluating the Olympus E-PL1 and Panasonic FH3, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The image resolution of the E-PL1 (12MP) and the FH3 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the E-PL1 (Four Thirds) and FH3 (1/2.3") come with different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL1 was manufactured 5 months after the FH3 and they are of a similar age. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FH3 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a step-by-step comparison, below is a short view of how the E-PL1 scores vs the FH3 for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL1 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH3. The entire galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1 Gallery & Panasonic FH3 Gallery.

If you're going to carry around your camera, you are going to need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL1 has exterior measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") along with a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) whilst the Panasonic FH3 has dimensions of 98mm x 55mm x 24mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 165 grams (0.36 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL1 and Panasonic FH3 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have at the time. Below is the front view proportions comparison of the E-PL1 compared to the FH3.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1 and FH3 is 86 and 94 respectively.

More often than not, it's difficult to visualize the gap in sensor sizes purely by going through specs. The image underneath may provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL1 and FH3.

All in all, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PL1 featuring a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF less difficult and the Panasonic FH3 will produce extra detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images far more aggressively.