Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic FZ1000

Below, we are evaluating the Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic FZ1000, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Panasonic. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and FZ1000 (20MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and FZ1000 (1") come with different sensor sizing.

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The E-PL3 was manufactured 3 years before the FZ1000 and that is quite a large difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic FZ1000 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going straight into a comprehensive comparison, below is a concise overview of how the E-PL3 scores against the FZ1000 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Panasonic FZ1000 Gallery.

If you are intending to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to factor in its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL3 comes with outer dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) while the Panasonic FZ1000 has specifications of 137mm x 99mm x 131mm (5.4" x 3.9" x 5.2") having a weight of 831 grams (1.83 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic FZ1000 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are employing at the time. Following is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-PL3 compared to the FZ1000.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL3 and FZ1000 is 88 and 55 respectively.

Oftentimes, its hard to visualize the difference between sensor measurements only by going over specifications. The photograph underneath should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL3 and FZ1000.

To sum up, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-PL3 featuring a larger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Panasonic FZ1000 will deliver more detail due to its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older E-PL3 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.