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It has been suggested that fMRI at 3T yields stronger and more extensive BOLD activations than fMRI at 1.5T, and that imaging at higher field strengths can reveal unique activations. In the present study we compared, within-subjects, activation patterns during a finger-tapping task at 1.5 and 3T. The data were analyzed with a random-effects model in SPM2. At a strict statistical level (p<0.05, FWE correction for multiple comparisons), ipsilateral cerebellar activation was revealed at 1.5T. At 3T, activation in sensory-motor regions in the contra-lateral cerebrum was identified in addition to the activation in cerebellum. At a less stringent statistical threshold, imaging at 1.5T and 3T revealed overlapping cortical regions with more extensive clusters at 3T. A similar pattern was seen in a comparison of familiar and novel sequences. However, subcortical activations of thalamus and parts of the basal ganglia were uniquely identified at 3T. Analyses at the individual level substantiated the group results by showing that the higher sensitivity of the 3T resulted in images with higher between-individual consistency in activation patterns.