Olympus E-PL3 vs Panasonic SZ8

On this page, we will be comparing the Olympus E-PL3 and Panasonic SZ8, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Olympus and Panasonic. There is a large difference among the resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and SZ8 (16MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and SZ8 (1/2.3") offer different sensor size.

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The E-PL3 was brought out 3 years before the SZ8 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ8 being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a short introduction of how the E-PL3 scores vs the SZ8 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ8. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Panasonic SZ8 Gallery.

When you are planning to carry around your camera frequently, you'll have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL3 offers exterior dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") having a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) while the Panasonic SZ8 has dimensions of 100mm x 60mm x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") having a weight of 159 grams (0.35 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-PL3 and Panasonic SZ8 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are using at that time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the E-PL3 and the SZ8.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL3 and SZ8 is 88 and 94 respectively.

In many cases, it is very hard to picture the difference in sensor sizes purely by viewing technical specs. The pic underneath may offer you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL3 and SZ8.

As you can tell, both of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PL3 due to its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Panasonic SZ8 will result in greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs more aggressively. The more aged E-PL3 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.