Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic S3

Its time to look more in depth at the Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic S3, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact by rivals Olympus and Panasonic. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the PEN-F (20MP) and S3 (14MP) and the PEN-F (Four Thirds) and S3 (1/2.3") boast different sensor measurements.

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The PEN-F was brought out 5 years after the S3 which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Olympus PEN-F being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a complete comparison, here is a brief overview of how the PEN-F matches up against the S3 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus PEN-F & Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3. The entire galleries are provided at Olympus PEN-F Gallery & Panasonic S3 Gallery.

In case you're going to travel with your camera often, you will want to factor in its weight and measurements. The Olympus PEN-F features physical measurements of 125mm x 72mm x 37mm (4.9" x 2.8" x 1.5") and a weight of 427 grams (0.94 lbs) whilst the Panasonic S3 has proportions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") along with a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs).

Take a look at the Olympus PEN-F vs Panasonic S3 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are using at the time. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the PEN-F against the S3.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the PEN-F and S3 is 84 and 96 respectively.

Sometimes, its difficult to imagine the gap in sensor dimensions only by going through a spec sheet. The image underneath will provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the PEN-F and S3.

As you can see, both of those cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The PEN-F featuring a bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Olympus PEN-F will show greater detail having its extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots more aggressively. The younger PEN-F should have an edge in sensor technology.