Both Olympus E-PL3 and Samsung HZ35W have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Olympus E-PL3's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) and Samsung HZ35W's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 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 Samsung HZ35W.
Below you can see the E-PL3 and HZ35W sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus E-PL3 and Samsung HZ35W Cameras
As seen above, Olympus E-PL3 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Samsung HZ35W. 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.
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
Olympus E-PL3
or the
Samsung HZ35W ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(Four Thirds versus 1/2.3-inch),
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.
