Olympus E-PL5 vs Olympus SH-3

Below is a in depth assessment of the Olympus E-PL5 and Olympus SH-3, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both designed by Olympus. The resolution of the E-PL5 (16MP) and the SH-3 (16MP) is fairly comparable but the E-PL5 (Four Thirds) and SH-3 (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor size.

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The E-PL5 was introduced 4 years earlier than the SH-3 and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera technology is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PL5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a complete comparison, below is a quick overview of how the E-PL5 matches up versus the SH-3 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL5 and Olympus Stylus SH-3. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL5 Gallery and Olympus SH-3 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera often, you'll have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-PL5 enjoys physical dimensions of 111mm x 64mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.5" x 1.5") and a weight of 325 grams (0.72 lbs) whilst the Olympus SH-3 has dimensions of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") with a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus E-PL5 and Olympus SH-3 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are using at that moment. The following is the front view dimensions comparison of the E-PL5 and the SH-3.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL5 and SH-3 is 88 and 88 respectively.

Normally, it can be difficult to visualise the difference in sensor measurements only by checking out technical specs. The graphic here will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PL5 and SH-3.

As you can tell, both of the cameras have got the exact same megapixel count but not the same sensor measurements. The E-PL5 comes with the larger sensor which is going to make getting shallow DOF simpler. The older E-PL5 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.