Both Olympus XZ-10 and Olympus E-PL3 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Olympus XZ-10'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 Olympus XZ-10.
Below you can see the XZ-10 and E-PL3 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Olympus XZ-10 and Olympus E-PL3 Cameras
As seen above, Olympus E-PL3 has a 8.0x Larger sensor area than Olympus XZ-10. 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 XZ-10
or the
Olympus E-PL3 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1/2.3-inch 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.
