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Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina

Portability
88
Imaging
48
Features
52
Overall
49
Olympus PEN E-PL3 front
 
Pentax Efina front
Portability
97
Imaging
38
Features
26
Overall
33

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina 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
  • Revealed September 2011
  • Superseded the Olympus E-PL2
Pentax Efina
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.5" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Digital Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-130mm (F3.5-6.3) lens
  • 91g - 87 x 54 x 21mm
  • Revealed June 2013
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina Overview

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.

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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.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL3 over the Pentax Efina

 E-PL3 Efina 
Focus manually Dial exact focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display sizing3"2.5"Larger display (+0.5")
Display resolution460k230kCrisper display (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Pentax Efina over the Olympus E-PL3

 Efina E-PL3 
RevealedJune 2013September 2011Fresher by 20 months

Common features in the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax Efina

 E-PL3 Efina 
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch display No Touch display

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina size comparison

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

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina Sensor Comparison

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.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Portrait photography features
Pentax Efina Portrait photography features
60
focusing manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
features face detect focus
saves RAW formats
sensor resolution low (12MP)
34
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
has face detection focusing
manual focus not available
no manual exposure
cannot use external flash
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Street photography details
Pentax Efina Street photography details
84
screen tilts
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
64
built in image stabilization (Digital)
lighter than competitors in class (91 grams)
no articulating screen
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Sports photography camera
Pentax Efina as a Sports photography camera
45
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
features tracking focus
very slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames/s)
sensor resolution low (12MP)
terrible battery (300 shots)
lack of phase detect auto focus
35
built in image stabilization (Digital)
MP count decent (14MP)
max shutter speed is low (1/1,400 seconds)
no shutter priority
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Travel photography advice
Pentax Efina Travel photography advice
44
lack of Timelapse mode
terrible battery (300 CIPA)
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
screen is not selfie friendly
69
lighter than competitors in class (91g)
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (26mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
screen is not selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-PL3
Landscape photography with Pentax Efina
61
focusing manually
swap lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
sensor resolution low (12MP)
terrible battery (300 CIPA)
lack of Timelapse mode
38
reasonably wide (26mm)
built in image stabilization (Digital)
MP count decent (14MP)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.5)
tiny screen (2.5")
no manual exposure
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW support
lack of Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Vlogging camera
Pentax Efina as a Vlogging camera
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
features face detect focus
high video quality (1920 x 1080 resolution)
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of microphone port
33
reasonably wide (26mm)
built in image stabilization (Digital)
has face detection focusing
lighter than competitors in class (91 grams)
slow max aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pxls)
lack of external microphone socket
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax Efina Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax Efina
 Olympus PEN E-PL3Pentax Efina
General Information
Make Olympus Pentax
Model type Olympus PEN E-PL3 Pentax Efina
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Ultracompact
Revealed 2011-09-20 2013-06-03
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Chip Truepic VI -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
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 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4032 x 3024 4288 x 3216
Max native ISO 12800 1600
Lowest native ISO 200 80
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 35 -
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 26-130mm (5.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.5-6.3
Macro focusing distance - 20cm
Amount of lenses 107 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 2.5"
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dots 230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen tech HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating QVGA TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic (optional) None
Features
Min shutter speed 60 secs 1/8 secs
Max shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/1400 secs
Continuous shutter rate 6.0fps -
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 4.10 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, Auto Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced Off
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/160 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720, 640 x 480
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format AVCHD, Motion JPEG -
Microphone port
Headphone port
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 sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 313g (0.69 pounds) 91g (0.20 pounds)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") 87 x 54 x 21mm (3.4" x 2.1" x 0.8")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 52 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 20.9 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 499 not tested
Other
Battery life 300 images 200 images
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID BLS-5 D-LI109
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SC/SDHC, Internal
Card slots Single Single
Cost at release $399 $10