Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony NEX-3N

Following is a complete analysis of the Olympus E-PL3 versus Sony NEX-3N, both Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras by competitors Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap among the sensor resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and NEX-3N (16MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and NEX-3N (APS-C) boast different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL3 was unveiled 17 months earlier than the NEX-3N making them a generation away from one another. Each of these cameras feature the same body design (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before going straight to a more detailed comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the E-PL3 matches up against the NEX-3N for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Sony Alpha NEX-3N. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Sony NEX-3N Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to carry around your camera, you have to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-PL3 offers outer dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") with a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) while the Sony NEX-3N has specifications of 110mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

See the Olympus E-PL3 versus Sony NEX-3N in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use at the time. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the E-PL3 against the NEX-3N.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL3 and NEX-3N is 88 and 89 respectively.

More often than not, it can be hard to picture the difference in sensor sizes only by checking out specs. The image below may offer you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL3 and NEX-3N.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PL3 using its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field harder and the Sony NEX-3N will show extra detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics way more aggressively. The more aged E-PL3 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.