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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR

Portability
88
Imaging
48
Features
52
Overall
49
Olympus PEN E-PL3 front
 
Olympus SZ-30MR front
Portability
89
Imaging
39
Features
39
Overall
39

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Key Specs

Olympus E-PL3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 313g - 110 x 64 x 37mm
  • Announced September 2011
  • Old Model is Olympus E-PL2
Olympus SZ-30MR
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Introduced March 2011
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Overview

Lets look more in depth at the Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both built by Olympus. There exists a large gap among the image resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and SZ-30MR (16MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and SZ-30MR (1/2.3") have different sensor size.

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The E-PL3 was launched 7 months later than the SZ-30MR which means that they are both of a similar age. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SZ-30MR being a Compact camera.

Before we go right into a more detailed comparison, here is a short view of how the E-PL3 scores vs the SZ-30MR when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL3 over the Olympus SZ-30MR

 E-PL3 SZ-30MR 
IntroducedSeptember 2011March 2011Fresher by 7 months
Manual focus Very accurate focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-30MR over the Olympus E-PL3

 SZ-30MR E-PL3 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus SZ-30MR

 E-PL3 SZ-30MR 
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen size
Screen resolution460k460kEqual screen resolution
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen
Touch screen Missing Touch screen

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Physical Comparison

In case you're planning to carry your camera regularly, you will want to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL3 has 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) while the Olympus SZ-30MR has dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have attached at the time. Following is a front view size comparison of the E-PL3 against the SZ-30MR.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL3 and SZ-30MR is 88 and 89 respectively.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Sensor Comparison

Normally, its difficult to picture the gap in sensor sizing merely by researching technical specs. The visual here should offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL3 and SZ-30MR.

As you have seen, each of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-PL3 due to its bigger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh simpler and the Olympus SZ-30MR will provide you with extra detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The more recent E-PL3 should have an edge in sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Portrait photography info
Olympus SZ-30MR Portrait photography info
60
has manual focus
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection focusing
exports RAW formats
MP count low (12 megapixels)
34
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
has face detect focus
focusing manually not possible
no manual control
no external flash support
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Street photography info
Olympus SZ-30MR Street photography info
84
screen tilts
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
60
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competitors in class (226 grams)
no moving screen
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Sports photography features
Olympus SZ-30MR Sports photography features
45
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames per second)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
bad battery power (300 shots)
lacks phase detect AF
41
amazing zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
has tracking focus
painfully slow continuous shooting (2.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
bad battery pack (220 CIPA)
lack of phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Travel photography camera
Olympus SZ-30MR as a Travel photography camera
44
does not have Time Lapse mode
bad battery power (300 shots)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
65
lighter than competitors in class (226 grams)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
built-in flash
reasonably wide (25mm)
long zoom (600mm)
missing Time Lapse function
bad battery pack (220 shots)
screen isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Landscape photography information
Olympus SZ-30MR Landscape photography information
61
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
MP count low (12 megapixels)
bad battery power (300 shots)
does not have Time Lapse mode
41
reasonably wide (25mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
focusing manually not possible
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
no manual control
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
bad battery pack (220 per charge)
missing Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-PL3
Vlogging with Olympus SZ-30MR
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection focusing
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
does not have external mic support
34
reasonably wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detect focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competitors in class (226 grams)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
screen isn't selfie friendly
missing mic port
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus SZ-30MR Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus SZ-30MR
 Olympus PEN E-PL3Olympus SZ-30MR
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus PEN E-PL3 Olympus SZ-30MR
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Superzoom
Announced 2011-09-20 2011-03-02
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Truepic VI TruePic III+
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 16 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Max resolution 4032 x 3024 4608 x 3456
Max native ISO 12800 3200
Minimum native ISO 200 80
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focus
AF touch
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 35 -
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-600mm (24.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.0-6.9
Macro focus distance - 1cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 460k dot 460k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen technology HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating TFT Hypercrystal III Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Min shutter speed 60s 4s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1700s
Continuous shutter speed 6.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range no built-in flash 4.00 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (30 fps)1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4
Mic jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 313 gr (0.69 lb) 226 gr (0.50 lb)
Physical dimensions 110 x 64 x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 52 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 20.9 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 499 not tested
Other
Battery life 300 shots 220 shots
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Price at release $399 $279