Olympus PEN E-PL6 vs Olympus Stylus SH-3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Olympus PEN E-PL6 and the Olympus Stylus SH-3, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Olympus PEN E-PL6 was introduced in August 2014 and Olympus Stylus SH-3 was introduced in February 2016. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus PEN E-PL6 over Olympus Stylus SH-3.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Olympus Stylus SH-3 over Olympus PEN E-PL6.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Olympus PEN E-PL6 and Olympus Stylus SH-3 have 3.0" screens with 460k dot resolution. Olympus PEN E-PL6 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Olympus Stylus SH-3 has a Fixed screen Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Camera does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached on Olympus PEN E-PL6.

Olympus PEN E-PL6 features a 16 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 100 - 25,600. Olympus Stylus SH-3 features a 16 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 125 - 6,400.

Olympus Stylus SH-3 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Olympus PEN E-PL6 is equipped with TruePic VI processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 2560 x 1920, 1024 x 768 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Olympus Stylus SH-3 is equipped with TruePic VII processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization. On Olympus PEN E-PL6 it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Olympus Stylus SH-3

Olympus Stylus SH-3 has a built-in Wi-Fi which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Olympus PEN E-PL6 has a Mini type C HDMI and Olympus Stylus SH-3 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Olympus PEN E-PL6 comes with BLS-5 battery pack with battery life of 360 shots and Olympus Stylus SH-3 comes with LI-92B battery pack with battery life of 380 shots.

External Storage Slots

Olympus PEN E-PL6 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot. Olympus Stylus SH-3 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Olympus PEN E-PL6, and up to 1/2000 sec on Olympus Stylus SH-3. Olympus PEN E-PL6 can shoot continuously up to 8.0 fps. Olympus Stylus SH-3 can shoot continuously up to 11.5 fps.

Flash

Olympus Stylus SH-3 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 8.30 m at ISO 3200. Olympus PEN E-PL6 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe..

Olympus PEN E-PL6 body has dimensions of 111 x 64 x 38 mm (4.37 x 2.52 x 1.5") and Olympus Stylus SH-3 body has dimensions of 109 x 63 x 42 mm (4.29 x 2.48 x 1.65"). Olympus PEN E-PL6 weighs 325 g (0.72 lb / 11.46 oz) and Olympus Stylus SH-3 weighs 271 g (0.60 lb / 9.56 oz).

Olympus PEN E-PL6

Olympus Stylus SH-3

111 mm

64 mm

109 mm

63 mm

64 mm

63 mm

38 mm

42 mm