Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony W690

Here is a complete assessment of the Olympus E-PL3 and Sony W690, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact by manufacturers Olympus and Sony. There is a considerable difference between the image resolutions of the E-PL3 (12MP) and W690 (16MP) and the E-PL3 (Four Thirds) and W690 (1/2.3") possess different sensor measurements.

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The E-PL3 was introduced 5 months prior to the W690 which means that they are both of a similar age. Each of these cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W690 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a full comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the E-PL3 scores versus the W690 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL3 Gallery & Sony W690 Gallery.

If you're intending to carry your camera, you're going to have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL3 enjoys exterior dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 313 grams (0.69 lbs) whilst the Sony W690 has sizing of 94mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL3 and Sony W690 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the E-PL3 against the W690.

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the E-PL3 and W690 is 88 and 95 respectively.

Generally, it is tough to picture the gap between sensor sizing just by reading through technical specs. The graphic here will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL3 and W690.

As you can tell, both of those cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The E-PL3 with its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF simpler and the Sony W690 will give you extra detail using its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop photos a little more aggressively.