Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina

Let's look closer at the Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Ultracompact by companies Olympus and Pentax. The resolution of the E-PL3 (12MP) and the Efina (14MP) is fairly similar but the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and Efina (1/2.3") come with different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL3 was released 20 months before the Efina making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax Efina being a Ultracompact camera.

Before diving through a complete comparison, below is a simple view of how the E-PL3 matches up against the Efina with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL3 and Pentax Efina. The complete galleries are available at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery and Pentax Efina Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry your camera often, you're going to have to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus E-PL3 comes with physical dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") and a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) and the Pentax Efina has proportions of 87mm x 54mm x 21mm (3.4" x 2.1" x 0.8") along with a weight of 91 grams (0.20 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you use at the time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the E-PL3 vs the Efina.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL3 and Efina is 88 and 97 respectively.

Often, it is tough to picture the difference between sensor sizing merely by reading technical specs. The visual below will offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL3 and Efina.

As you can tell, both cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The E-PL3 because of its larger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF simpler and the Pentax Efina will deliver greater detail as a result of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics a little more aggressively. The older E-PL3 is going to be behind with regard to sensor tech.