Sony Alpha NEX-3 Pro Reviews

The NEX-3 is mightily similar to its NEX-5 brother. What it loses in body build and grip-size it makes up for by slashing the price. At £440 with the 16mm lens it's an absolute bargain that has class-leading image quality just the same as the NEX-5. Some firmware updates have improved start up times and added headline-grabbing features like 3D Sweep Panorama - the latter may not be used by all, yet it's good to see future-proof forward-thinking. Sony has come on in leaps and bounds lately and the NEX-series is an absolute testament to that. An excellent Micro System Camera that could well open up the market to considerably more people thanks to strong features and image quality. Its main letdown is the lack of a more user-friendly layout when in more advanced modes, though the layout as it is does add to the overall charm and makes up part of what the NEX-system is: a compact-like camera with changeable lenses and exceptional image quality.

The NEX-3 is a brave and interesting attempt to make a true cross-over camera for compact camera users wanting access to a larger sensor and interchangeable lenses. And, although it isn't a flawless point-and-shoot camera, it offers a great feature set at a competitive price in a conveniently small body.

With its two NEX series models you feel that Sony has done just enough to stake its claim on the fledgling compact system camera market, whilst leaving plenty of room for refinement and improvement in future models - chiefly by adding a pop up flash, touch screen operation and greater flexibility as regards the movement of said screen.

If you give it a go, it will reward you with very good image quality and a newfound flexibility in how you work and lug around your gear. It might also open up some new tricks and photo ops you never considered possible. Whether the shooting poses it offers, and enforces, are your cup of tea is something only you can decide.

Overall, while the new firmware makes a remarkable difference to the NEX-3’s – and by extension NEX-5’s – usability, the NEX-3 didn’t give us the same joy as its smaller sibling. Of course, it’s £110 cheaper than the NEX-5 and it produces images of the same calibre, which carries a lot of weight, and makes it one of the cheapest compact system cameras out there. If it was our money, we’d recommend saving that little bit longer to get the NEX-5, but the NEX-3 is a great option for those looking for DSLR-like image quality but don’t want the bulk.

Still, compared to traditional DSLRs the NEX-3 is expensive. It’s only £55 cheaper than the superb Nikon D5000, and if you want a camera that will grow with you, the latter is a more sensible option. You can attach the £100 Alpha mount adapter, which allows you to use lenses from Sony’s DSLRs, but the range of available glass doesn’t compare. Nevertheless, if you’re after a slim, stylish camera that doesn’t offer many quality compromises, the Sony NEX-3 is the best we’ve seen.

The Sony NEX-3 is so similar to its big brother, the NEX-5, that you'd be hard-pressed to tell them apart side-by-side. Indeed, there are so few differences that we're not sure why Sony went to the trouble of releasing both models. That said, if you don't need the full HD movies or better build-quality of the NEX-5, then the NEX-3 is a significantly cheaper option that otherwise delivers exactly the same features, image quality and performance.

So, despite providing a very attractive set of features, we'll have to say that the NEX-3 will most likely prove to be extremely popular mostly with mainstream users (OK, maybe advanced amateurs as well), who want a camera that's a lot more portable than a DSLR, while in the same time being more user friendly and delivering photos having the same level of quality as those delivered by a DSLR.

There is no doubting that the NEX-3 is a very capable hybrid camera and if you love the NEX-5, then the NEX-3 offers a more affordable route to much of the same goodness. But we can't help feeling these current NEX models are going to be subjected to Marmite syndrome. Some will love the Sony approach, and some will find it doesn't hit the mark.

While "smaller and more aggressive" was the tactic with the NEX-5, the Sony NEX-3 takes a more conservative approach, taking on a size not much smaller than an Olympus E-P1. Both new Sony cameras evoke the memory of the Sony F505 through the F717, unusual looking cameras produced from 2000 to 2002, with a small grip and large, protruding lenses. Unlike the competition in this space, there's next to no camera body left of the lens, with all the body appearing either directly behind or to the right of the grip (as viewed from behind).

Stellar performance, a killer design, and a low price make the pocket-size Sony Alpha NEX-3 the compact interchangeable-lens camera to beat.

The Sony Alpha NEX-3 is very close to an ideal camera for travelers who want to get great shots on the road, but don’t want to lug around a full-size DSLR or mess too much with settings.