Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony A6300

Let's look more closely at the Olympus E-PL3 versus Sony A6300, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap between the image resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and A6300 (24MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and A6300 (APS-C) use different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL3 was launched 5 years prior to the A6300 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras offer the identical body type (Rangefinder-style mirrorless).

Before diving in to a detailed comparison, below is a short introduction of how the E-PL3 grades against the A6300 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Sony Alpha a6300. The complete galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Sony A6300 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry your camera, you should think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL3 has exterior dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") along with a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) while the Sony A6300 has measurements of 120mm x 67mm x 49mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.9") with a weight of 404 grams (0.89 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus E-PL3 versus Sony A6300 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you use at that time. Following is the front view size comparison of the E-PL3 against the A6300.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PL3 and A6300 is 88 and 83 respectively.

Sometimes, it's tough to imagine the gap between sensor sizing merely by checking technical specs. The visual below will give you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL3 and A6300.

As you can tell, both the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The E-PL3 due to its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field trickier and the Sony A6300 will give more detail utilizing its extra 12MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older E-PL3 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.