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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030

Portability
88
Imaging
48
Features
52
Overall
49
Olympus PEN E-PL3 front
 
Olympus Stylus 7030 front
Portability
95
Imaging
36
Features
27
Overall
32

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 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
  • Revealed September 2011
  • Earlier Model is Olympus E-PL2
Olympus 7030
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 64 - 1600
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 28-196mm (F3.0-5.9) lens
  • 140g - 93 x 56 x 26mm
  • Announced January 2010
  • Alternate Name is mju 7030
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 Overview

Its time to look a bit more closely at the Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus 7030, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are offered by Olympus. The image resolution of the E-PL3 (12MP) and the 7030 (14MP) is relatively similar but the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and 7030 (1/2.3") provide different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL3 was launched 21 months after the 7030 which makes them a generation away from one another. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus 7030 being a Compact camera.

Before going right into a more detailed comparison, here is a short highlight of how the E-PL3 matches up against the 7030 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL3 over the Olympus 7030

 E-PL3 7030 
AnnouncedSeptember 2011January 2010Newer by 21 months
Manual focus Dial precise focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen size3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution460k230kCrisper screen (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Olympus 7030 over the Olympus E-PL3

 7030 E-PL3 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus 7030

 E-PL3 7030 
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither offers Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 Physical Comparison

When you are looking to travel with your camera regularly, you have to consider its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL3 offers physical measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) whilst the Olympus 7030 has proportions of 93mm x 56mm x 26mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 1.0") having a weight of 140 grams (0.31 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus 7030 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use at the time. Below is a front view over all size comparison of the E-PL3 and the 7030.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL3 and 7030 is 88 and 95 respectively.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its hard to picture the difference between sensor dimensions purely by going over a spec sheet. The image below will help offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL3 and 7030.

Clearly, both of the cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL3 due to its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Olympus 7030 will offer more detail utilizing its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures a good deal more aggressively. The more recent E-PL3 provides an advantage in sensor tech.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Portrait photography advice
Olympus 7030 Portrait photography advice
60
focusing manually
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has face detection focus
exports RAW files
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
28
decent megapixels (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
no manual exposure
no external flash support
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Street photography advice
Olympus 7030 Street photography advice
84
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
57
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
screen does not articulate
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Sports photography camera
Olympus 7030 as a Sports photography camera
45
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
has tracking autofocus
slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames/s)
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
terrible battery power (300 per charge)
lack of phase detect auto focus
39
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
offers tracking autofocus
low frames per second (1.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
has no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Olympus E-PL3
Travel photography with Olympus 7030
44
does not have Timelapse function
terrible battery power (300 per charge)
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
65
decent megapixels (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
pretty wide (28mm)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
does not posses selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-PL3
Landscape photography with Olympus 7030
61
focusing manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW files
sensor resolution not great (12MP)
terrible battery power (300 per charge)
does not have Timelapse function
37
pretty wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
decent megapixels (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
screen is small (2.7 inch)
no manual exposure
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
doesn't have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Vlogging advice
Olympus 7030 Vlogging advice
34
image stabilization (Sensor based)
has face detection focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
screen isn't selfie friendly
does not have external microphone support
29
pretty wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.0)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
low video resolution (640 x 480 pxls)
doesn't have external microphone socket
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus 7030 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus 7030
 Olympus PEN E-PL3Olympus Stylus 7030
General Information
Brand Olympus Olympus
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL3 Olympus Stylus 7030
Also referred to as - mju 7030
Category Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Revealed 2011-09-20 2010-01-07
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Truepic VI TruePic III
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.08 x 4.56mm
Sensor area 224.9mm² 27.7mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 16:9 and 4:3
Highest Possible resolution 4032 x 3024 4288 x 3216
Maximum native ISO 12800 1600
Min native ISO 200 64
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 35 -
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-196mm (7.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.0-5.9
Macro focusing distance - 2cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.9
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inches 2.7 inches
Screen resolution 460 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen tech HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Min shutter speed 60 seconds 4 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 6.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 5.70 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Fill-in
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 640x480
Video data format AVCHD, Motion JPEG Motion JPEG
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 313 grams (0.69 lbs) 140 grams (0.31 lbs)
Physical dimensions 110 x 64 x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") 93 x 56 x 26mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 1.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 52 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 20.9 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 499 not tested
Other
Battery life 300 images -
Type of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID BLS-5 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 seconds)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SC/SDHC, Internal
Card slots 1 1
Launch price $399 $179