Olympus E-PL8 vs Panasonic SZ3

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Olympus E-PL8 and Panasonic SZ3, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact by competitors Olympus and Panasonic. The resolution of the E-PL8 (16MP) and the SZ3 (16MP) is fairly well matched but the E-PL8 (Four Thirds) and SZ3 (1/2.3") come with different sensor size.

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The E-PL8 was announced 3 years after the SZ3 which is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-PL8 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic SZ3 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise summary of how the E-PL8 matches up vs the SZ3 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PL8 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ3. The whole galleries are provided at Olympus E-PL8 Gallery and Panasonic SZ3 Gallery.

For those who are looking to travel with your camera often, you'll have to take into account its weight and volume. The Olympus E-PL8 enjoys outside dimensions of 115mm x 67mm x 38mm (4.5" x 2.6" x 1.5") with a weight of 357 grams (0.79 lbs) and the Panasonic SZ3 has sizing of 95mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 126 grams (0.28 lbs).

Compare the Olympus E-PL8 and Panasonic SZ3 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are utilising at that time. Below is the front view measurement comparison of the E-PL8 versus the SZ3.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the E-PL8 and SZ3 is 86 and 96 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to imagine the gap between sensor dimensions simply by checking specifications. The pic below should provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the E-PL8 and SZ3.

Plainly, the 2 cameras offer the same exact megapixels but different sensor dimensions. The E-PL8 has the larger sensor which should make achieving shallow depth of field less difficult. The newer E-PL8 should have an edge in sensor tech.