Olympus E-PL3 vs Samsung NX3000

Lets take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL3 vs Samsung NX3000, both Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras by brands Olympus and Samsung. There exists a crucial gap among the resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and NX3000 (20MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and NX3000 (APS-C) have different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL3 was launched 3 years prior to the NX3000 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras have the same body design (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before getting right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a brief view of how the E-PL3 scores vs the NX3000 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL3 and Samsung NX3000. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery and Samsung NX3000 Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera, you'll need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL3 comes with outside 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) while the Samsung NX3000 has dimensions of 117mm x 66mm x 39mm (4.6" x 2.6" x 1.5") having a weight of 230 grams (0.51 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PL3 vs Samsung NX3000 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. Below is a front view overall size comparison of the E-PL3 versus the NX3000.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the E-PL3 and NX3000 is 88 and 89 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements only by going through specifications. The visual underneath should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL3 and NX3000.

To sum up, both of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The E-PL3 because of its smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field more challenging and the Samsung NX3000 will provide more detail utilizing its extra 8MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older E-PL3 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.