Both Nikon D3 and Olympus E-PL2 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Nikon D3's sensor is Full frame (36 x 23.9 mm ) and Olympus E-PL2's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).
Since Nikon D3'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 Olympus E-PL2.
Below you can see the D3 and E-PL2 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D3 and Olympus E-PL2 Cameras
As seen above, Nikon D3 has a 3.8x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-PL2. 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.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Nikon D3 and Olympus E-PL2 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, D3 has scored 81, 26 points higher than E-PL2.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Nikon D3
81
23.5 bits
12.2 Evs
2290 ISO
Olympus E-PL2
55
21.4 bits
10.2 Evs
573 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Nikon D3
or the
Olympus E-PL2 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Full frame versus Four Thirds),
so compare them at the same framing rather than the same focal length.
Put the same focal length on the smaller sensor and it will show less depth of
field, not more, because it also crops tighter. The calculator shows the
full frame equivalent focal length for each body so you can match the framing.
