Olympus E-PL1s vs Olympus SH-3

Let's look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-PL1s versus Olympus SH-3, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both built by Olympus. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and SH-3 (16MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and SH-3 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor sizes.

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The E-PL1s was introduced 6 years earlier than the SH-3 and that is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL1s being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a more detailed comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the E-PL1s matches up versus the SH-3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL1s and Olympus Stylus SH-3. The whole galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery and Olympus SH-3 Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry your camera regularly, you're going to have to factor its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL1s provides outer dimensions of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") with a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) while the Olympus SH-3 has measurements of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL1s versus Olympus SH-3 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you select at that moment. Underneath is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-PL1s versus the SH-3.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL1s and SH-3 is 86 and 88 respectively.

Usually, it is very difficult to envision the gap between sensor sizing simply by looking at specs. The graphic below should give you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL1s and SH-3.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-PL1s with its bigger sensor will make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Olympus SH-3 will resolve more detail using its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs much more aggressively. The older E-PL1s is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.