Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SH-50

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SH-50, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are offered by Olympus. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and SH-50 (16MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and SH-50 (1/2.3") possess different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL3 was revealed 15 months before the SH-50 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SH-50 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a thorough comparison, below is a concise summary of how the E-PL3 scores versus the SH-50 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Olympus SH-50. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Olympus SH-50 Gallery.

In case you're looking to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL3 offers physical measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) and the Olympus SH-50 has specifications of 112mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.7") along with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SH-50 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you use at that moment. Here is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL3 vs the SH-50.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL3 and SH-50 is 88 and 88 respectively.

Normally, it is tough to imagine the difference in sensor measurements merely by viewing specs. The photograph underneath should provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL3 and SH-50.

All in all, both the cameras enjoy different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL3 with its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Olympus SH-50 will render greater detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop shots far more aggressively. The older E-PL3 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.