Clicky

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55

Portability
88
Imaging
48
Features
52
Overall
49
Olympus PEN E-PL3 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 front
Portability
92
Imaging
37
Features
28
Overall
33

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 Key Specs

Olympus E-PL3
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 313g - 110 x 64 x 37mm
  • Revealed September 2011
  • Succeeded the Olympus E-PL2
Sony H55
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 200g - 103 x 58 x 29mm
  • Released June 2010
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 Overview

Its time to take a deeper look at the Olympus E-PL3 versus Sony H55, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the E-PL3 (12MP) and the H55 (14MP) is fairly close but the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and H55 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor sizes.

Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

The E-PL3 was manufactured 16 months after the H55 making the cameras a generation away from one another. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony H55 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the E-PL3 matches up vs the H55 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Body cameras now worn by bakery staff to deter stealing
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus E-PL3 over the Sony H55

 E-PL3 H55 
ReleasedSeptember 2011June 2010Newer by 16 months
Manual focus Dial exact focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution460k230kCrisper display (+230k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony H55 over the Olympus E-PL3

 H55 E-PL3 

Common features in the Olympus E-PL3 and Sony H55

 E-PL3 H55 
Display dimension3"3"Identical display dimensions
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen
Touch display Missing Touch display

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is intending to travel with your camera frequently, you will need to think about its weight and proportions. The Olympus E-PL3 comes with 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 H55 has measurements of 103mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") having a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL3 versus Sony H55 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are utilizing during that time. Below is the front view sizing comparison of the E-PL3 vs the H55.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL3 and H55 is 88 and 92 respectively.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is hard to envision the gap in sensor dimensions just by researching technical specs. The picture below may offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL3 and H55.

As you can tell, both of the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL3 because of its larger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field easier and the Sony H55 will render more detail due to its extra 2MP. Greater resolution will help you crop pics much more aggressively. The fresher E-PL3 will have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Portrait photography factors
Sony H55 Portrait photography factors
60
you can focus manually
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with face detection focus
supports RAW formats
low MP (12 megapixels)
28
MP count good (14MP)
lack of manual focus
lack of manual exposure
can't use external flash
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
Cutting-edge AI developed by Apple deciphers subtle nuances in pixels

Street Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Street photography advice
Sony H55 Street photography advice
84
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
56
has image stabilization (Optical)
screen is fixed
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Sports Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Sports photography factors
Sony H55 Sports photography factors
45
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
comes with tracking autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (6.0 frames/s)
low MP (12MP)
bad battery pack (300 CIPA)
lacks phase detect auto focus
38
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
lack of shutter priority mode
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Travel Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 Travel photography information
Sony H55 Travel photography information
44
lack of Time Lapse recording
bad battery pack (300 CIPA)
low MP (12MP)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
67
MP count good (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
fairly wide (25mm)
long zoom (250mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
Photography Glossary

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Olympus E-PL3
Landscape photography with Sony H55
61
you can focus manually
change lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
screen is a decent size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (Four Thirds)
supports RAW formats
low MP (12MP)
bad battery pack (300 shots)
lack of Time Lapse recording
42
fairly wide (25mm)
pretty good screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
cannot change lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
lack of manual exposure
sensor is very small (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-PL3 as a Vlogging camera
Sony H55 as a Vlogging camera
34
image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detection focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does not contain selfie friendly screen
lack of external mic jack
28
fairly wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
doesn't offer selfie friendly display
low quality video (1280 x 720 resolution)
doesn't have external mic support
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-PL3 and Sony H55
 Olympus PEN E-PL3Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus PEN E-PL3 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55
Type Entry-Level Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Revealed 2011-09-20 2010-06-16
Physical type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Truepic VI Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4032 x 3024 4320 x 3240
Maximum native ISO 12800 3200
Minimum native ISO 200 80
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Number of focus points 35 9
Lens
Lens mounting type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focus distance - 5cm
Number of lenses 107 -
Focal length multiplier 2.1 5.8
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3 inches 3 inches
Display resolution 460k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display technology HyperCrystal LCD AR(Anti-Reflective) coating -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic (optional) None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 60 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1600 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 6.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range no built-in flash 3.80 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in, Slow Sync, Manual (3 levels) Auto, On, Slow Syncro, Off
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video file format AVCHD, Motion JPEG MPEG-4
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 313 grams (0.69 lbs) 200 grams (0.44 lbs)
Dimensions 110 x 64 x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") 103 x 58 x 29mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 52 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 20.9 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 10.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 499 not tested
Other
Battery life 300 photos -
Battery style Battery Pack -
Battery model BLS-5 NP-BG1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, portrait1/ portrait2)
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo/ PRO HG-Duo, SD/SDHC, Internal
Card slots One One
Retail pricing $399 $235