Olympus E-PL3 vs Pentax K-3

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-3, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Advanced DSLR by manufacturers Olympus and Pentax. There exists a crucial gap among the resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and K-3 (24MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and K-3 (APS-C) posses different sensor sizing.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

The E-PL3 was released 3 years earlier than the K-3 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Pentax K-3 being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before delving into a comprehensive comparison, here is a brief summation of how the E-PL3 grades vs the K-3 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL3 and Pentax K-3. The complete galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery and Pentax K-3 Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry your camera regularly, you need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL3 offers outer dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) and the Pentax K-3 has dimensions of 131mm x 100mm x 77mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.0") and a weight of 800 grams (1.76 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-PL3 and Pentax K-3 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the E-PL3 vs the K-3.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL3 and K-3 is 88 and 59 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to picture the gap in sensor sizing purely by seeing specs. The graphic here will provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL3 and K-3.

All in all, each of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-PL3 featuring a smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Pentax K-3 will show extra detail as a result of its extra 12 Megapixels. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older E-PL3 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.