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Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3 Comparison

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Nikon S9100

12 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Nikon S9100
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Olympus E-PL3

12 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

Olympus E-PL3
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Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Nikon S9100, which was introduced in July 2011 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 12.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor whereas Olympus E-PL3, which was introduced in September 2011 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 12.0MP Four Thirds sensor. There is only 2 months difference between S9100 and E-PL3 so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and technology level.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon S9100 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-07-19
  • 12MP - 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 160 - 3200
  • 25-450 mm F3.5-5.9 Zoom Lens
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • 10 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 240fps High-Speed Video
  • 214g. 105 x 62 x 35 mm

Olympus E-PL3 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-09-20
  • 12MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • 6 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 313g. 110 x 64 x 37 mm
  • Replaced Olympus PEN E-PL2 Compare

Nikon S9100 was replaced by Nikon Coolpix S9300. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon Coolpix S9300 vs Nikon Coolpix S9100
Nikon Coolpix S9300 vs Olympus PEN E-PL3

Olympus E-PL3 was replaced by Olympus PEN E-PL5. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus PEN E-PL5 vs Olympus PEN E-PL3
Olympus PEN E-PL5 vs Nikon Coolpix S9100

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon Coolpix S9100 over Olympus PEN E-PL3
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
LCD Screen Resolution
921k dots vs 460k dots 100% higher resolution screen
Continuous Shooting
10.0fps vs 6.0fps 4 fps faster
Weight
214 g vs 313 g 99 g lighter


Reasons to choose Olympus PEN E-PL3 over Nikon Coolpix S9100
LCD Screen
Tilting vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Max ISO
12.800 vs 3.200 300% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
35 vs 9 26 more focus points
Max Mech. Shutter
1/4000s vs 1/2000s faster mechanical shutter
Battery Life
300 shots vs 270 shots 30 more frames with a single charge
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
Sensor Pixel Area
18.45µm2 vs 2.34µm2 688% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Strengths of Nikon Coolpix S9100 and Olympus PEN E-PL3
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs Sensor-shift Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Continuous Shooting
10.0fps vs 6.0fps Fast shooting speeds
Common Weaknesses of Nikon Coolpix S9100 and Olympus PEN E-PL3
Environmental Sealing
No vs No not suitable for tough conditions
Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon S9100 has external dimensions of 105 x 62 x 35 mm (4.13 x 2.44 x 1.38″) and weighs 214 g (0.47 lb / 7.55 oz) (including batteries). Olympus E-PL3 has external dimensions of 110 x 64 x 37 mm (4.33 x 2.52 x 1.46″) and weighs 313 g (0.69 lb / 11.04 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3. Nikon S9100 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 5mm narrower, 2mm shorter and 2mm thinner than Olympus E-PL3. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Nikon S9100 has a built-in lens but Olympus E-PL3 doesn't. Once you put a lens on E-PL3, its thickness will increase significantly.

Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3.

Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3.
Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Nikon S9100 is significantly lighter (99g ) than the Olympus E-PL3 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on E-PL3, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Nikon Coolpix S9100 nor Olympus PEN E-PL3 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

On the other hand, Olympus E-PL3 features a Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Nikon S9100 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to E-PL3.
Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3: Sensor Comparison

Both Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Nikon S9100's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ) and Olympus E-PL3's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).

Since Olympus E-PL3's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Nikon S9100.

Below you can see the S9100 and E-PL3 sensor size comparison.

Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 Cameras


As seen above, Olympus E-PL3 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Nikon S9100. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Nikon S9100 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PL3 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Nikon S9100 for Street Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-PL3 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Optional External Viewfinder
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Nikon S9100 for Sports Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PL3 for Sports Photography

AVERAGE
Image Stabilization
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
450 mm Tele Lens
Average Max shutter speed: 1/2000s
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Poor Battery Life: 270 shots
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.90
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
35 Focus Points
Optional External Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon S9100 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-PL3 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Compact Body
214g
18.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
313g
Read the details

Nikon S9100 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus E-PL3 for Landscape Photography

POOR
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon S9100 vs Olympus E-PL3: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Nikon S9100 and Olympus E-PL3 scores compare:

Nikon S9100
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #174 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #727 out of 1223 in all Cameras
Olympus E-PL3
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #86 out of 127 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #379 out of 1223 in all Cameras

Olympus E-PL3 is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon S9100 in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Nikon S9100. Otherwise, Olympus E-PL3 is the better camera overall.

Nikon S9100
Nikon S9100
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Olympus E-PL3
Olympus E-PL3
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Olympus E-PL3 vs Nikon S9100 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Nikon Coolpix S9100 Olympus PEN E-PL3
Brand Nikon Olympus
Announced 2011-07-19 2011-09-20
Body Type Compact Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Size 1/2.3-inch Four Thirds
Dimensions 6.17 x 4.55 mm 17.3 x 13 mm
Area 28.07mm2 224.90mm2
Megapixels 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Max Resolution 4000 x 3000 4032 x 3024
Max Native Light sensitivity 3,200 ISO 12,800 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 160 ISO 200 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 9 35
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount fixed lens Micro Four Thirds
Lens Focal Range 25-450 mm (18×) no lens
Max Aperture F3.5-5.9 no lens
Macro Focus Range 4cm no lens
Screen
Type Fixed type Tilting
Size 3" 3"
Resolution 921k dots 460k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Electronic (optional)
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/2000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization Sensor-shift Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range 4.00 m no built-in flash
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 10.0 fps 6.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, H.264 AVCHD, Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity None None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 214g 313g
Dimensions 105 x 62 x 35mm 110 x 64 x 37mm
Battery Life 270 shots 300 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 52
DxO Color Depth not tested 20.9
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 10.3
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 499
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