Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony RX100 IV

Below, we are contrasting the Olympus E-PL3 and Sony RX100 IV, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Sony. There is a large difference among the image resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and RX100 IV (20MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and RX100 IV (1") come with totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The E-PL3 was unveiled 4 years before the RX100 IV which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX100 IV being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going through a step-by-step comparison, below is a short highlight of how the E-PL3 matches up versus the RX100 IV for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Sony RX100 IV Gallery.

When you are intending to travel with your camera regularly, you're going to have to consider its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL3 enjoys external measurements of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") and a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) while the Sony RX100 IV has sizing of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") having a weight of 298 grams (0.66 lbs).

Check out the Olympus E-PL3 and Sony RX100 IV in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you use at the time. Below is the front view sizing comparison of the E-PL3 versus the RX100 IV.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL3 and RX100 IV is 88 and 89 respectively.

Generally, its hard to envision the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by seeing technical specs. The picture here will help give you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the E-PL3 and RX100 IV.

As you can tell, both of those cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The E-PL3 having a larger sensor will make getting shallower DOF simpler and the Sony RX100 IV will show extra detail having an extra 8MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images much more aggressively. The more aged E-PL3 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.