Olympus PEN E-PL3

Olympus PEN E-PL3 was announced in 2011 and is a Micro Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) Mirrorless camera with 12.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor. Its native ISO ranges from 200 to 12,800. The camera has a Tilting 3.0" screen with 460k dot resolution. It has a built-in Sensor Shift in body image stabilization.

Olympus PEN E-PL3 can capture video up to 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Here is the Olympus PEN series lineup, where you can view and compare the main specifications of the cameras within the same series.

Olympus PEN series lineup

	Model	Date	Sensor	Native ISO	Screen	Price
	Olympus PEN E-P7 Compare	June 2021	20 MP Micro Four Thirds	200 - 25,600	Tilting 3.0" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL9 Compare	February 2018	16.1 MP Micro Four Thirds	200 - 6,400	Tilting 3.0" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL8 Compare	September 2016	16.1 MP Micro Four Thirds	200 - 25,600	Tilting 3.0" 1,037k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN-F Compare	January 2016	20 MP Micro Four Thirds	200 - 25,600	Articulated 3.0" 1,037k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL7 Compare	September 2014	16.1 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 25,600	Tilting 3.0" 1,037k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL6 Compare	August 2014	16 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 25,600	Tilting 3.0" 460k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-P5 Compare	October 2013	16.1 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 25,600	Tilting 3.0" 1,037k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PM2 Compare	May 2013	16.1 MP Micro Four Thirds	200 - 25,600	Fixed 3.0" 460k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL5 Compare	September 2012	16.1 MP Micro Four Thirds	200 - 25,600	Tilting 3.0" 460k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PM1 Compare	November 2011	12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 12,800	Fixed 3.0" 460k dot	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL3	September 2011	12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds	200 - 12,800	Tilting 3.0" 460k dot	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-P3 Compare	August 2011	12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 12,800	Fixed 3.0" 614k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL2 Compare	February 2011	12 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 6,400	Fixed 3.0" 460k dot	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL1s Compare	November 2010	12 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 6,400	Fixed 2.7" 230k dot	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-PL1 Compare	May 2010	12 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 3,200	Fixed 2.7" 230k dot	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-P2 Compare	April 2010	12 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 6,400	Fixed 3.0" 230k dot	amazon B&H
	Olympus PEN E-P1 Compare	July 2009	12 MP Micro Four Thirds	100 - 6,400	Fixed 3.0" 230k dot	amazon B&H

You can view their side-by-side comparison here: Olympus PEN E-P7 vs PEN E-PL9 vs PEN E-PL8 vs PEN-F vs PEN E-PL7 vs PEN E-PL6.

In this section we present pros and cons of Olympus PEN E-PL3.

Here we are comparing Olympus PEN E-PL3 to its predecessor PEN E-PL2 and displaying the major changes.

For more detailed comparison between the models please visit Olympus PEN E-PL3 vs PEN E-PL2.

In 2012 Olympus PEN E-PL3 was replaced by Olympus PEN E-PL5. Let us now have a look at some important differences between Olympus PEN E-PL3 and its successor.

For more detailed comparison between the models please visit Olympus PEN E-PL3 vs PEN E-PL5.

Tilting screen

Olympus PEN E-PL3 has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 460k dot resolution which is quite low by today's standards. Tilting screen makes this camera very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting.

Camera does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached.

Olympus PEN E-PL3 features a 12.3 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor with dimensions of 17.3 x 13 mm and a total area of 224.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 12,800.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how Olympus PEN E-PL3's Micro Four Thirds sensor compares with other types of sensors:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.3 x 13 mm	224.9 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Camera is equipped with Truepic VI processor and can take pictures up to 4032 x 3024 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolutions like 3200 x 2400, 2560 x 1920, 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Olympus PEN E-PL3 has Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Due to Micro Four Thirds sensor its crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is 2x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The camera has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

USB Input and HDMI Output

Olympus PEN E-PL3 has a USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) input for data transfer. There is a Mini type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus PEN E-PL3 comes with BLS-5 battery pack with battery life of 300 shots.

External Storage Slots

The camera has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Olympus PEN E-PL3's shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec. Camera can shoot continuously up to 5.5 fps.

Flash

Olympus PEN E-PL3 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/160 sec.

Olympus PEN E-PL3 has dimensions of 110 x 64 x 37 mm (4.33 x 2.52 x 1.46"). It weighs 313 g (0.69 lb / 11.04 oz), so it is a lightweight camera.

110 mm (4.33")

64 mm (2.52")

64 mm (2.52")

37 mm (1.46")