Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony H55

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.

Photography Glossary

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.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL3 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55. The entire galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery and Sony H55 Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.