Olympus E-PL3

Olympus E-PL3 is Olympus's Entry-Level Mirrorless camera originally released on September of 2011. The camera comes with a 12MP, CMOS Four Thirds sized sensor and has a max resolution of 4032 x 3024.

Olympus introduced this camera in an effort to update the earlier Olympus E-PL2 (Read Full Comparison)

The E-PL3 is positioned #99 out of 117 in Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras & over-all #446 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our list. You should try out our Advanced camera search to see camera ratings based on your personal criteria.

The following is a chart of multiple factors used in the rating system.

The Olympus E-PL3 is part of a family of products. You can read the complete range below.

You can check the E-PL3 from different angles in the gallery underneath.

Below is a selection of pluses and minuses of the Olympus E-PL3 based on things that are typically considered essential in a camera.

The Olympus E-PL3 is run by the Truepic VI processor chip. The specification of the sensor in the Olympus E-PL3 is 17.3mm x 13mm (Four Thirds). The 225 mm² sensor has the capability to capture 4032 x 3024 pixels and aspect ratios of 4:3. The camera has Image Stabilization (Sensor based). Optical stabilization is more effective than digital stabilization as the latter can cause cropping.

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The CMOS sensor has 12MP and gives a native ISO range of 200 - 12800. RAW format is saved therefore the user has wider margin for error.

The image below illustrates the E-PL3's sensor dimensions when compared to other common sizes. The E-PL3 sensor has a crop factor of 2.1 and is pointed out in green.

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To get a sense of different aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Olympus E-PL3 weighs about 0.69 lbs (313 grams / 11.04 oz) & has outer dimensions of 110mm x 64mm x 37mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.5"). The weight of typical Entry-Level Mirrorless camera is 329 grams so the Olympus E-PL3 is very much the same in comparison with other competitors.

Photography Glossary

The following is a photo of the Olympus E-PL3 besides a soda so you're able to get a sense of its scale.

The top view directly below will illustrate the button design on the E-PL3.

The E-PL3 fits the Micro Four Thirds mount and has 162 lenses that you can purchase. Below is a few of the lenses we have in our collection which will fit the E-PL3.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm F5.0-6.3 IS100-400mmf/5-6.3 1120g

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN C56mmf/1.40g

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Olympus M.Zuiko ED 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II75-300mmf/4.8-6.7 423g

Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm F2.8 II Power OIS35-100mmf/2.8 357g

Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm F4-5.6 OIS100-300mmf/4.0-5.6 520g

OM System 40-150mm F4.0 PRO40-150mmf/4 382g

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Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f4.0-5.640-150mmf/4.0-5.6 220g

The E-PL3 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Digital cameras that incorporate NFC or Bluetooth connectivity are able to be controlled wirelessly via smartphones. You can easily transfer photos and at times change settings with no need to connect physically to the camera.

Several applications even allow a Liveview and hit the shutter in case you are not near the camera. If the camera contains a HDMI port, it can easily be attached to an external screen. The majority of cameras will allow you to recharge the battery pack through the USB socket.

The max video quality in the Olympus E-PL3 is 1920 x 1080 and you can shoot in AVCHD and Motion JPEG format. 1080p quality offers a decent balance for quality vs file sizes but 1080p is not going to leave you with any room to crop. The camera does not have a microphone or headphone port which means that you have got little control over the sound. It is perhaps a better idea to have a look at a different camera in case you want decent sound for your video clips.

There is no environment sealing on the Olympus E-PL3 so you need to be careful in rainy or dusty conditions.

The Olympus E-PL3 comes with a 3 inch tilting display screen supporting a resolution of 460 thousand dots.

Sadly the display screen is not a touch screen.

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The ViewFinder specs for Olympus E-PL3 are the following:

• ViewFinder Electronic (optional)

For bright outdoor conditions which make the camera displays washed out and hard to see, viewfinders are very valuable.

Olympus E-PL3 has the capability to shoot continuously at 6.0 frames/s. The maximum shutter speed is 1/4000 seconds.

Olympus E-PL3 has external flash support but is without in-built flash. The highest flash sync speed is 1/160 seconds.

Olympus E-PL3 has just Contrast Based AF & lacks Phase Detect AF. Phase Detection focusing is more faster & accurate when compared to Contrast Based focusing. The camera comes with Face detect making it valuable for people photography.

The AF system comes with 35 focus points to select from. It also features Tracking AF for moving things. Olympus E-PL3 has the ability to use manual focusing when required for low light conditions or you want to have more precise control on focusing.

The battery pack (BLS-5) on the Olympus E-PL3 is built to last for 300 clicks based on the CIPA benchmarks which is lower when compared to it's competition. The usual Entry-Level Mirrorless camera battery life is 343. Fujifilm X-S20 offers the maximum (750) battery life for this type of cameras.

Here is a listing of Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras having the best battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm X-S20
E-PL3 vs X-S20750 yesnoyes

Samsung NX mini
E-PL3 vs NX mini650 yesnono

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Pentax K-01
E-PL3 vs K-01540 yesnono

Sony NEX-3N
E-PL3 vs NEX-3N480 yesnono

Sony NEX-F3
E-PL3 vs NEX-F3470 yesnono

The following bar chart indicates a rundown of the Olympus E-PL3 for specific types of photography. To learn more, browse to the specific section below.

The Olympus E-PL3 gets a points total of 60 which is reasonable, and means the camera is relatively appropriate for portrait photography. Taking portrait photos leans greatly towards sensor specs, RAW support and capability to utilize external lighting.

Coming in at a brilliant points total of 84, the Olympus E-PL3 is a wonderful fit to use in street photography. A decent street photography camera comes with a perfect balance of image quality and portability.

A subpar sports photography rating of 45 indicates the Olympus E-PL3 is just not suitable for shooting sports. A camera must have good tracking and continuous shooting for sports photography.

Weight is extremely important when selecting a travel camera. All things considered, the Olympus E-PL3 gets a subpar 44 as a travelling camera which is just not suitable to buy for your travels.

For anyone looking to buy a digital camera for landscape photographs, the most vital factor is going to be image quality. The Olympus E-PL3 at it's above average rating of 61 as a landscape camera is a very decent choice compared to its competition.

A vlogging camera preferably should come with a articulating screen, mic port and preferably image stabilization. Taking everything into account, the Olympus E-PL3 is just not suitable as a vlog camera as it comes to a subpar score of 34.

If you are looking for replacements to the E-PL3, here is a number of the highest placed cameras that fall under the category of Entry-Level Mirrorless.

The graph down below shows you an overview of the E-PL3 compared to it's highest scored competitors shown above.

Here are a few more cameras you may see as alternate options. To see a detailed comparison, just click on the "compare" link.