Olympus E-PM1 vs Olympus SH-3

Below, we are contrasting the Olympus E-PM1 and Olympus SH-3, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Olympus. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the E-PM1 (12MP) and SH-3 (16MP) and the E-PM1 (Four Thirds) and SH-3 (1/2.3") feature different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The E-PM1 was introduced 5 years earlier than the SH-3 which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-PM1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Olympus SH-3 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a quick overview of how the E-PM1 matches up versus the SH-3 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus PEN E-PM1 and Olympus Stylus SH-3. The whole galleries are viewable at Olympus E-PM1 Gallery and Olympus SH-3 Gallery.

For anyone who is aiming to carry around your camera often, you'll need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-PM1 provides outside dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 34mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.3") with a weight of 265 grams (0.58 lbs) while the Olympus SH-3 has specifications of 109mm x 63mm x 42mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.7") having a weight of 271 grams (0.60 lbs).

Examine the Olympus E-PM1 and Olympus SH-3 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are utilizing at that time. Below is the front view overall size comparison of the E-PM1 vs the SH-3.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-PM1 and SH-3 is 89 and 88 respectively.

Typically, its difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor sizes just by checking a spec sheet. The picture below might give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the E-PM1 and SH-3.

As you can see, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The E-PM1 using its larger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Olympus SH-3 will give more detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged E-PM1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.