Olympus E-PM2 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor . On the other hand, Olympus E-PL3 has a
12.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Truepic VI processor.
Below you can see the E-PM2 and E-PL3 sensor size comparison.
Olympus E-PM2 and Olympus E-PL3 have the same sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Olympus E-PL3 has 30% larger pixel area (18.45µm2 vs 14.12µm2) compared to Olympus E-PM2, it has larger pixel area to collect light hence potential to have less noise in low light / High ISO images.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Olympus E-PM2 and Olympus E-PL3 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, E-PM2 has scored 72, 20 points higher than E-PL3.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Olympus E-PM2 |
72 |
22.7 bits |
12.2 Evs |
932 ISO |
Olympus E-PL3 |
52 |
20.9 bits |
10.3 Evs |
499 ISO |