Olympus XZ-1 vs Sony NEX-3

Let's look a little more in depth at the Olympus XZ-1 versus Sony NEX-3, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by companies Olympus and Sony. There exists a considerable gap among the image resolutions of the XZ-1 (10MP) and NEX-3 (14MP) and the XZ-1 (1/1.63") and NEX-3 (APS-C) enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

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The XZ-1 was released 8 months later than the NEX-3 so they are both of a similar age. The two cameras offer different body type with the Olympus XZ-1 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting through a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the XZ-1 grades versus the NEX-3 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Olympus XZ-1 & Sony Alpha NEX-3. The complete galleries are available at Olympus XZ-1 Gallery & Sony NEX-3 Gallery.

If you are intending to lug around your camera regularly, you'll need to think about its weight and measurements. The Olympus XZ-1 enjoys outside measurements of 111mm x 65mm x 42mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 275 grams (0.61 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-3 has proportions of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs).

Analyze the Olympus XZ-1 versus Sony NEX-3 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are utilising at the time. Here is the front view sizing comparison of the XZ-1 against the NEX-3.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the XZ-1 and NEX-3 is 88 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it can be tough to envision the contrast in sensor measurements just by going through specifications. The visual underneath may provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the XZ-1 and NEX-3.

To sum up, the two cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The XZ-1 because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field harder and the Sony NEX-3 will show extra detail as a result of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop pics a little more aggressively. The fresher XZ-1 is going to have an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.