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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS

Portability
88
Imaging
48
Features
52
Overall
49
Olympus PEN E-PL3 front
 
Olympus TG-820 iHS front
Portability
92
Imaging
36
Features
37
Overall
36

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS 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
  • Introduced September 2011
  • Replaced the Olympus E-PL2
Olympus TG-820 iHS
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.9-5.9) lens
  • 206g - 101 x 65 x 26mm
  • Launched February 2012
Photography Glossary

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS Overview

The following is a detailed overview of the Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Waterproof and they are both built by Olympus. The resolution of the E-PL3 (12MP) and the TG-820 iHS (12MP) is very close but the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and TG-820 iHS (1/2.3") come with different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL3 was unveiled 4 months prior to the TG-820 iHS and they are of a similar age. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus TG-820 iHS being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight into a in depth comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-PL3 matches up against the TG-820 iHS in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL3 over the Olympus TG-820 iHS

 E-PL3 TG-820 iHS 
Manual focus Very exact focus
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display

Reasons to pick Olympus TG-820 iHS over the Olympus E-PL3

 TG-820 iHS E-PL3 
Display resolution1030k460kCrisper display (+570k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus TG-820 iHS

 E-PL3 TG-820 iHS 
LaunchedSeptember 2011February 2012Same age
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurement
Selfie screen Neither features selfie screen
Touch friendly display Absent Touch friendly display

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS Physical Comparison

For those who are going to travel with your camera often, you have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL3 enjoys outer measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) whilst the Olympus TG-820 iHS has sizing of 101mm x 65mm x 26mm (4.0" x 2.6" x 1.0") along with a weight of 206 grams (0.45 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have attached during that time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-PL3 against the TG-820 iHS.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL3 and TG-820 iHS is 88 and 92 respectively.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it is very difficult to visualize the difference in sensor dimensions simply by looking through specs. The picture below will help give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-PL3 and TG-820 iHS.

All in all, each of the cameras posses the exact same MP but different sensor dimensions. The E-PL3 offers the larger sensor which will make obtaining bokeh less difficult.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Portrait photography camera
Olympus TG-820 iHS as a Portrait photography camera
60
focusing manually
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports face detection autofocus
exports RAW formats
low resolution (12MP)
27
offers face detection focus
manual focus not available
lack of manual exposure
cannot use external flash
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Street photography info
Olympus TG-820 iHS Street photography info
84
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
61
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
weather proofing
fixed screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Sports photography details
Olympus TG-820 iHS Sports photography details
45
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports tracking autofocus
painfully slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames per second)
low resolution (12MP)
bad battery power (300 per charge)
does not have phase detect autofocus
34
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers tracking autofocus
weather proofing
continuous shooting slow (5.0 frames/s)
lack of shutter priority mode
low resolution sensor (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
not so great battery power (220 CIPA)
lack of phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Travel photography information
Olympus TG-820 iHS Travel photography information
44
lack of Timelapse mode
bad battery power (300 shots)
low resolution (12MP)
display is not selfie friendly
59
weather proofing
has built in flash
pretty wide (28mm)
missing Timelapse mode
not so great battery power (220 shots)
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.9)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Landscape photography camera
Olympus TG-820 iHS as a Landscape photography camera
61
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a good size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
low resolution (12 megapixels)
bad battery power (300 shots)
lack of Timelapse mode
38
pretty wide (28mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
weather proofing
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.9)
lack of manual exposure
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
not so great battery power (220 shots)
missing Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus E-PL3
Vlogging with Olympus TG-820 iHS
34
image stabilization (Sensor based)
supports face detection autofocus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
display is not selfie friendly
lack of external microphone socket
33
pretty wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
offers face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
slow max aperture (f3.9)
screen isn't selfie friendly
missing external microphone jack
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-820 iHS Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus TG-820 iHS
 Olympus PEN E-PL3Olympus TG-820 iHS
General Information
Make Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus PEN E-PL3 Olympus TG-820 iHS
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Waterproof
Introduced 2011-09-20 2012-02-08
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Truepic VI TruePic VI
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 -
Highest resolution 4032 x 3024 3968 x 2976
Highest native ISO 12800 6400
Minimum native ISO 200 100
RAW images
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 35 -
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.9-5.9
Macro focus distance - 1cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 460k dot 1,030k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Screen tech HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating HyperCrystal III TFT Color LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 4 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 6.0 frames per sec 5.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range no built-in flash 3.50 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in
Hot shoe
AEB
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported 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)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video file format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone input
Headphone input
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 seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 313 grams (0.69 lb) 206 grams (0.45 lb)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") 101 x 65 x 26mm (4.0" x 2.6" x 1.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around 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 pictures 220 pictures
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 LI-50B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC
Storage slots One One
Price at launch $399 $500