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Review Summary
2012-05-23T21:00:00
I've only had it for a few weeks, but so far this camera is everything I was hoping it would be. Can't wait to take it to Ireland in a few weeks!
Valerie H.
2011-11-13T19:00:00
Grest bang for the buck! Really great results and quality from this camera and all the lenses, including the new 30mm macro
hypergon
2011-04-16T20:00:00
I wanted a small camera that my wife can use also. My wife didn't want to lug anything large around except me.
MikeinNYC

2010-06-27T20:00:00
I've purchased similar (electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens) cameras from at least 2 other manufacturers, and found them to come up just short in several ways. Either AF performance was not quite as fast as what I needed, or the size of the camera was just a bit too large, or the quality coming out of the sensor was not quite what I had hoped for. The NEX-3 has outperformed the others I've used in nearly every way. > I picked up the NEX-3 kit with the 16mm lens and I think it's better than what many of the reviews are saying right now. If you're looking for a pocketable substitute for your A700, then this isn't quite that, but it's not exactly meant to be, either. It's got a great sensor that picks up a lot of detail, a beautiful screen, and enough controls to make most adjustments. Plus, the thing is really small enough to put in your pocket or briefcase. I really admire its departure from the traditional camera design. > Most of the complaints I've heard in reviews are around adjusting settings. True, most settings require menu changes, but the only setting I missed was ISO adjustment. Mode-specific adjustment (such as aperture or shutter speed), exposure compensation, drive mode, and flash settings are all readily available. It would be a bit better and easier to use if the main button (in the center of the control dial) and the secondary button (the one at the bottom) could be set to customizable functions - by default they're "Shoot Mode" and "Shoot Tips" - great settings for beginners, but not for experienced users. I imagine this is something that could be changed in a firmware update, and it would make the camera almost perfect for my use if it is added. > The autofocus is about as fast as any other similar camera, but still falls short of what you can do with an entry-level DSLR. This is to be expected, and there has to be a compromise somewhere to get this quality into this size of a package. > The other point to consider is the lens. It's got some mild (but noticeable) distortion that is unlike other wide angle lenses. It seems that this is in the RAW format as well, so it might be that some software correction is being applied, or the lens construction is a bit different than other wide-angle lenses. That being said, I do like the 16mm (24mm eq) that's in the kit, but something faster and a touch longer would get a lot more use from me. A f/2 28mm pancake lens (42mm eq) would be perfect on this camera, yielding a great field of view for general purpose photography. > All in all, I love this camera. It has about 90% of what I would want from a camera like this, and at the price, it's a great value. For me, the areas where it comes short could be corrected by a firmware update. For beginners or for users that are starting to learn more about photography, it's probably closer to 95% of the way there. I'd highly recommend it to any photographer.
pulseHEAD

Sony E-mount interchangeable lens digital camera
Sony E-mount
Sony E-mount lens, (Sony a lenses when used with LA-EA1 lens adaptor)
1.5x
Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor (23.4 X 15.6mm)
Charge protection coating on Low-Pass Filter and electromagnetic vibration mechanism (Power off or Manual)
BIONZ image processor
Approx. 14.6 megapixels
Approx. 14.2 megapixels
RGB primary color filters
Memory Stick PRO Duo/Pro-HG Duo/PRO-HG HX Duo media
SD, SDHC and SDXC memory card
JPEG (Standard, Fine), RAW, RAW+JPEG
L (14M): 4592 X 3056
M (7.4M): 3344 X 2224
S (3.5M): 2288 X 1520
L (12M): 4592 X 2576
M (6.3M): 3344 X 1872
S (2.9M): 2288 X 1280
sRGB, AdobeRGB
MP4 (MPEG-4 AVC (H.264))
MP4 HD: 1280 x 720/ 30p (29.97 Progressive) Approx.9Mbps/6Mbps (Average bit-rate)
MP4 VGA: 640 x 480/ 30p (29.97 Progressive) Approx.3Mbps(Average bit-rate)
MPEG-4 AAC-LC
Contrast AF
25 points
Single-shot AF, Continuous AF, Direct Manual Focus, Manual Focus
Multi Point AF (25 points), Center Weighted AF, Flexible Spot AF
0 EV to 20 EV (at ISO100 conversion with F2.8 lens)
Magnified display for precise manual focus
Predictive Focus Control, Focus Lock
Built-in, LED type
Easy-to-understand Graphic Display and on-screen Help Guide User-friendly function menu
80 expert advice shooting tips
Horizontal Panorama Size:
- Wide 23MP (12,416 x 1,856), 226° (16mm focal), 201° (18mm focal)
- Standard 15.2MP (8,192 x 1,856), 149° (16mm focal), 133° (18mm focal)
Vertical Panorama Size:
- Wide 12MP (5,536 x 2,160), 151° (16mm focal), 135° (18mm focal)
- Standard 8.4MP (3,872 x 2,160), 106° (16mm focal), 94° (18mm focal)
Yes, (Auto Exposure Difference, Exposure difference Level (1-6 EV at 1.0 EV step), off)
6-image layering
Off, Auto, Child Priority, Adult Priority
Off, Slight, Normal, Big
49 Segment metering from CMOS image sensor
Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot
0EV-20EV, (at ISO 100 equivalent w/ f/2.8 lens)
+/-2EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
iAUTO, Program Auto (P), Aperture priority (A), Shutter priority (S), Manual (M)
Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Sports action, Sunset, Night portrait, Night View, Handheld Twilight
Yes: (Auto, Level 1-5, off)
Yes (AE Lock with focus lock)
Auto, 200 to 12800
Long exp.NR: (On/Off, available at shutter speeds longer than 1 second)
High ISO NR: (Auto/Weak)
Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, B/W
Adjustable: Contrast (-3 to +3 steps), Saturation (-3 to +3 steps), Sharpness (-3 to +3 steps)
Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash, Setting the color temperature, Custom
2500 - 9900 k with 19-step Magenta / Green compensation
Electronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane type
Single-shot, Continuous, Speed Priority, Self-timer, Continuous Self-timer, Bracketing; Remote Commander
Continuous (2.3fps)
Speed Priority (7fps)
2-sec. or 10-sec. delay, (single, continuous 3 or 5 frames)
1/4000 - 30 seconds, bulb
1/160 second
JPEG (unlimited to card capacity)
RAW (8 shots)
RAW+JPEG (5 shots)
3" TFT TruBlack LCD (921,600 pixels)
Up: Approx. 80 degrees, Down: Approx. 45 degrees
Auto (-2 to +2 step sunny weather)
100%
Yes, (Constant AF Live View)
Exposure Compensation, WB, Creative Style
Yes (On/off)
Yes (On/off)
Brightness: Auto Manual, Sunny Weather
Display Color: Black, White, Blue, Pink
Wide Image: Full Screen, Normal
Smart accessory terminal (HVL-F7S Flash Supplied)
Pre-flash TTL
Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear sync., Slow sync., Red-eye reduction
+/-2EV,1/3EV steps
FOV coverage up to 16 mm (in the focal length)
Approx. 4 sec
7 (in meters at ISO 100)
3 frames, 1/3, 2/3EV steps selectable
Dual memory card slot:
- Memory Stick PRO Duo/Pro-HG Duo/PRO-HG HX Duo media
- SD, SDHC and SDXC memory card
HDMI (TypeC mini)
USB2.0 Hi-speed (mass-storage, PTP)
Yes, via HDMI with compatible BRAVIA HDTV
Yes, with BRAVIA Sync enabled HDTV and HDMI cable
Yes, via USB
PMB (Picture Motion Browser) 4.3.01 Image Data Converter SR 3.1 Image Data Lightbox SR
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Windows XP*SP2 Windows Vista Mac OS X(v10.1.3) or later
InfoLitium NP-FW50, 7.2V
Approx. 330 images (CIPA standard)
32 - 104 degrees F (0 - 40 degrees C)
SEL1855
E-mount 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Sony E-mount
9 groups, 11 elements (4 aspheric surfaces)
27mm-82.5mm
76° - 29°
7 blades (Circular aperture)
F3.5-F5.6
F22-F32
0.3x (APS-C)
9.8" (0.25m)
49mm
Yes (Stepping motor)
Optical SteadyShot (max 4-step)
Excellent
Yes
No rotation
Metal
Aluminum
2-7/16 x 2-3/8" (62x60mm)
6.9 oz (194g)
Approx 4-5/8 ® 2-1/2 ® 1-3/8" (117.2x62.6x33.4mm) (W/H/D); 1" (25.4mm) excl grip and lens mount
Approx. 8.4 oz (239g) (excl battery & media)
Approx. 10.5 oz (297g) (w/battery & media)
027242797628











Great next step
By pulseHEAD
I've purchased similar (electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens) cameras from at least 2 other manufacturers, and found them to come up just short in several ways. Either AF performance was not quite as fast as what I needed, or the size of the camera was just a bit too large, or the quality coming out of the sensor was not quite what I had hoped for. The NEX-3 has outperformed the others I've used in nearly every way. > I picked up the NEX-3 kit with the 16mm lens and I think it's better ...
View full Review
Best Small Camera
By MikeinNYC
I wanted a small camera that my wife can use also. My wife didn't want to lug anything large around except me.
With the Sony Alpha NEX-3 interchangeable lens camera, you can take professional-grade pictures without looking like a professional photographer. Enjoy gorgeous HD movies, astounding low-light pictures, continuous shooting up to 7 fps, incredible panorama shots and Live View on a tilting 3.0-inch LCD. Get the performance of a DSLR without the size and weight. The NEX-3 stands apart as the world's smallest interchangeable lens camera.
Unlike conventional DSLR models, the "mirrorless" construction of the NEX-3 reduces the thickness of camera body to just about an inch at its slimmest point (excluding grip and mount portions). The NEX-3 is constructed with a polycarbonate casing. It offers a newly developed 14.2 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor. About 60 percent larger than the sensor in micro four-thirds cameras, this sensor is key to the exceptional image quality, extremely low image noise and creative defocus background effects that are familiar to DSLR users.
The NEX-3 is the first Alpha camera featuring Sweep Panorama. With this feature capturing large group shots is as easy as press-and-sweep. Sweep Panorama mode lets you capture breathtaking shots up to 226-degree horizontal or 151-degree vertical shots.
Featuring in-lens Optical SteadyShot image stabilization for clearer handheld images, the E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS zoom is a perfect travel partner. The E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS zoom lens offers a powerful 11x magnification range plus Optical SteadyShot image stabilization with Active mode that is used in the most advanced Handycam camcorders.
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