Olympus E-PL1s vs Sony NEX-C3

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL1s versus Sony NEX-C3, both Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras by brands Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap among the resolutions of the E-PL1s (12MP) and NEX-C3 (16MP) and the E-PL1s (Four Thirds) and NEX-C3 (APS-C) posses different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL1s was released 9 months before the NEX-C3 so they are of a similar age. Both cameras feature the same body design (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before going into a full comparison, here is a short summation of how the E-PL1s matches up versus the NEX-C3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL1s & Sony Alpha NEX-C3. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL1s Gallery & Sony NEX-C3 Gallery.

If you're aiming to carry around your camera often, you should factor its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL1s offers outer measurements of 115mm x 72mm x 42mm (4.5" x 2.8" x 1.7") with a weight of 334 grams (0.74 lbs) and the Sony NEX-C3 has proportions of 110mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 225 grams (0.50 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL1s versus Sony NEX-C3 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you use at that moment. Following is a front view measurements comparison of the E-PL1s and the NEX-C3.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL1s and NEX-C3 is 86 and 91 respectively.

Quite often, it's tough to picture the contrast in sensor sizes purely by looking through a spec sheet. The picture here might give you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL1s and NEX-C3.

Clearly, the 2 cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The E-PL1s featuring a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Sony NEX-C3 will result in extra detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop shots way more aggressively. The more aged E-PL1s will be behind in sensor innovation.