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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6

Portability
88
Imaging
48
Features
52
Overall
49
Olympus PEN E-PL3 front
 
Olympus Tough TG-6 front
Portability
90
Imaging
39
Features
54
Overall
45

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 313g - 110 x 64 x 37mm
  • Revealed September 2011
  • Replaced the Olympus E-PL2
Olympus TG-6
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 25-100mm (F2.0-4.9) lens
  • 253g - 113 x 66 x 32mm
  • Introduced May 2019
  • Replaced the Olympus TG-5
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 Overview

Below is a extensive comparison of the Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus TG-6, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Waterproof and both of them are produced by Olympus. The sensor resolution of the E-PL3 (12MP) and the TG-6 (12MP) is very well matched but the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and TG-6 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL3 was launched 8 years before the TG-6 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus TG-6 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a thorough comparison, below is a simple synopsis of how the E-PL3 scores vs the TG-6 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL3 over the Olympus TG-6

 E-PL3 TG-6 
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display

Reasons to pick Olympus TG-6 over the Olympus E-PL3

 TG-6 E-PL3 
IntroducedMay 2019September 2011More recent by 93 months
Display resolution1040k460kClearer display (+580k dot)

Common features in the Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus TG-6

 E-PL3 TG-6 
Manual focus More accurate focusing
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurement
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch display Lacking Touch display

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is going to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL3 provides external 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) and the Olympus TG-6 has specifications of 113mm x 66mm x 32mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3") along with a weight of 253 grams (0.56 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus TG-6 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you are working with at that time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL3 vs the TG-6.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL3 and TG-6 is 88 and 90 respectively.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 Sensor Comparison

Often, its difficult to imagine the difference between sensor measurements just by reading through specifications. The photograph underneath may provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL3 and TG-6.

To sum up, both of those cameras posses the exact same resolution but different sensor measurements. The E-PL3 offers the larger sensor which will make getting shallower DOF simpler. The older E-PL3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Portrait photography highlights
Olympus TG-6 Portrait photography highlights
60
has manual focus
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
includes face detection focus
exports RAW formats
sensor resolution low (12MP)
40
you can focus manually
provides face detect autofocus
supports RAW files
no manual control
external flash not possible
resolution not great (12MP)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Street photography details
Olympus TG-6 Street photography details
84
screen tilts
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
65
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
no moving screen
very small sensor (1/2.3")
more heavy than competition in class (253 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Sports photography information
Olympus TG-6 Sports photography information
45
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
includes tracking autofocus
max frames per second very slow (6.0 frames per second)
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
low battery power (300 CIPA)
lack of phase detect auto focus
47
max frames per second high (20.0 fps)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides tracking focus
weather sealing
great battery pack (340 CIPA)
lack of shutter priority mode
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Travel photography info
Olympus TG-6 Travel photography info
44
no Timelapse mode
low battery power (300 CIPA)
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
68
great battery pack (340 CIPA)
weather sealing
has built in flash
quite wide (25mm)
fast max aperture (f2.0)
more heavy than competition in class (253g)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
does not have a selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Landscape photography info
Olympus TG-6 Landscape photography info
61
has manual focus
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen size is decent (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is good (Four Thirds)
exports RAW formats
sensor resolution low (12MP)
low battery power (300 shots)
no Timelapse mode
57
you can focus manually
quite wide (25mm)
fast max aperture (f2.0)
nice screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports RAW files
weather sealing
great battery pack (340 per charge)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
no manual control
resolution not great (12MP)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Vlogging information
Olympus TG-6 Vlogging information
34
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
screen is not selfie friendly
no external microphone port
34
quite wide (25mm)
fast max aperture (f2.0)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
provides face detect autofocus
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
does not have a selfie friendly display
missing microphone socket
more heavy than competition in class (253g)
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Olympus TG-6 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL3 and Olympus TG-6
 Olympus PEN E-PL3Olympus Tough TG-6
General Information
Company Olympus Olympus
Model Olympus PEN E-PL3 Olympus Tough TG-6
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Waterproof
Revealed 2011-09-20 2019-05-22
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Truepic VI TruePic VIII
Sensor type CMOS BSI-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 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4032 x 3024 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 12800 12800
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 35 25
Lens
Lens mount Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-100mm (4.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.0-4.9
Macro focus range - 1cm
Total lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of display 460 thousand dots 1,040 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display 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 20.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range no built-in flash -
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, Red Eye Reduction, Slow sync. (1st curtain), Red-eye Slow sync. (1st curtain), Fill- in, Manual, Flash Off
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 102 Mbps, MOV, H.264, Linear PC
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 3840x2160
Video data format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None Built-in
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 313g (0.69 lbs) 253g (0.56 lbs)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") 113 x 66 x 32mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.3")
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 pictures 340 pictures
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model BLS-5 LI-92B
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC card (UHS-I support)
Card slots Single Single
Pricing at release $399 $449