Olympus E-PL3 vs Sony NEX-7

Sony NEX-7 advantages over Olympus E-PL3

• Focus peaking
  Peaker vs Non-peaker
  Your camera will highlight what's in focus
• Larger sensor
  APS-C vs 4/3
  More sensor area. Bigger is (generally) better.
• Eye-level viewfinder
  Eye-level vs Rear display only
  You'll be able to frame photos even when the sun is out
• In-camera panoramas
  Yes vs No
  Stitches multiple shots into a panoramic photo
• Fast startup
  ~1.20 vs 2.1 sec
  Faster startup lets you catch the moment
• Better color depth

  Better color depth

  Color depth refers to the number of unique colors that a sensor can faithfully capture. Cameras with better color depth will demonstrate smoother transitions from one color to the next, and avoid "banding" in areas with subtle shading. (Blue skies are an example of where you might see color banding.)

  More color depth is generally better, but you'll struggle to notice a difference between two cameras with less than 1 bit of difference. Color depth above 22 bits is considered excellent.

  Want to learn more? Head over to our full glossary entry on color depth

  Color depth test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  NEX-7 test data on DxO Mark E-PL3 test data on DxO Mark
  24.1 vs 20.9 bits
  Capture richer, more accurate colors
• Higher effective ISO

  Higher effective ISO

  Maximum effective ISO is an estimate of the highest sensitivity at which a camera can capture excellent quality photos.

  Cameras with higher effective ISO will be better choices for indoor photography, night shooting, and indoor sports photography, especially if you intend to make large prints.

  You can learn more at our glossary entry.

  Maximum effective ISO test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  NEX-7 test data on DxO Mark E-PL3 test data on DxO Mark
  1,016 vs 499 iso
  Take photos in low light with less noise
• More dynamic range

  More dynamic range

  Cameras with more dynamic range allow you to take photos with dramatic differences in highlight and shadow areas while retaining detail in both.

  Think of a brilliant sunset on a rocky beach: Bright sunset in the background, with dark rocks in the foreground. High dynamic range means more of the extremes will be faithfully reproduced.

  Dynamic range test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  NEX-7 test data on DxO Mark E-PL3 test data on DxO Mark
  13.4 vs 10.2 evs
  Retain detail in highlight and shadows
• Longer stills battery life
  More info

  Longer stills battery life

  Cameras with longer battery life can take more photos before exhausting their batteries.

  Special note: The measurement standard for battery life stipulates that if a camera has an internal flash, it must be used for 50% of photos taken. For this reason, comparisons of one camera with an internal flash to another without will not be comparable

  430 vs 300 shots
  Capture more photos
• Internal flash
  Internal flash vs None
  Useful in a pinch for fill flash
• External Mic Jack
  Jack vs No jack
  Improved sound fidelity when shooting video
• Shoots 24p video
  Yes vs No
  Gives your movies a big-screen feel
• Higher-res screen
  307k vs 153k pixels
  More detail on the screen lets you judge focus and composition
• Shoots 1080p video
  Yes vs No
  You'll want this if you shoot video
• More pixels
  24.3 vs 12.3 megapixels
  Higher resolution photos
• Faster JPEG shooting
  10.0 fps vs 5.3 fps
  Faster JPEG shooting (burst mode)
• Bigger JPEG buffer
  18 vs 9 shots
  Take more JPEG shots before waiting (burst mode)