Before we commence with this review, a mea culpa and caveat: my compadre Barb Gonzalez has likely forgotten more about digital cameras than I know. I consider myself an above-average knowledgeable consumer when it comes to cameras, but I’m more interested in filling my photographic needs than, say, yours, the needs of the general consumer.
This interest is what prompted me to get a review sample of Sony’s NEX-3n compact system camera (CSC).
A compact system camera, or CSC, is a point-and-shoot-sized digital camera with the large imaging sensor usually found on D-SLR models and that take interchangeable lens like a D-SLR. In other words, a CSC is almost as sophisticated and takes almost as detailed photos as a D-SLR camera, only is much much smaller, lighter and cheaper. (You can read more about CSCs here.)
Price is what first attracted me the the Sony NEX-3n. When it first went on sale last month, it sold for just $500, making it the least expensive CSC bundle on the market. But the NEX-3n is now on sale for $50 less, $450, making it an even more impressive bargain.
But just because the NEX-3n is an inexpensive CSC doesn’t make it cheap, nor does it lack for features or technologies.
Sony NEX-3n pros
For my product and press event photo needs, I needed four CSC attributes:
Articulated Screen: I need to be able to flip the screen around in order to be able to shoot from different angles.
The NEX-3n screen flips up 180 degrees, parallel to and over the top of the camera, which makes self-portraits easy. However, the screen does not flip down so you can hold the camera over your head to shoot, or around.
To get overhead shots, you can turn the camera upside-down. Best of all, the 3n doesn’t care if it’s shooting upside-down. The image in the screen and the image captured end up right-side up. Just be careful holding the 3n upside-down.
Power Zoom: While point-and-shoot cameras just require you to hold down a T/W switch to zoom in and out, CSCs work like D-SLRs and require you to turn the lens to zoom.
Two-handed operation is inconvenient for me – I needed to be able to hold the camera and manipulate the zoom with one hand since I’m likely to be holding a reporter’s notebook and/or pen in the other.
If the 3n isn’t the ONLY CSC with a power zoom, it’s certainly the least expensive. Its W/T toggle is a ring around the shutter release, easy to manipulate with your index finger.
Adjustable Flash: Trying to take a photo of a product with a display screen such as a smartphone or tablet is a challenge. Without a flash, the bright light from the display screen sort of blinds the camera, and renders the rest of the device too darkly; with a flash, the light either bleaches out what’s on the display screen or reflects off it. I need to be able to aim the flash to achieve a happy medium between these two extremes.
All of Sony’s NEX-model CSCs have an articulated flash. You press the flash button on the top rear of the camera (see more photos of the 3n here) which releases the pop-up flash like a jack-in-the-box. Once up, you can push the flash forward or pull it back so it’s aimed up, maybe to reflect the flash off the ceiling. Most importantly, the flash isn’t firing straight on your subject. This bendable flash is a great option, although you’ll need to use a second hand.
Touch Focus: An increasing number of cameras of all stripes and acronyms offer touch screens, on which you just touch a spot you want the camera to focus on in a scene.
Unfortunately, I’d have to move up to Sony’s larger and more expensive NEX-5R (also on sale, now down to $600, $150 off the original price, and which Barb discusses here) to get touch focus and a few other features such as a hot shoe to add accessories and built-in Wi-Fi.
Well, three out of four ain’t bad.
Wait, there’s more
A couple of other things I like about the 3n.
It’s small and light – less than 10 ounces, about how much two big smartphones weigh, and only 2.5 inches thick with the bundled 16-50mm lens. As a result, it doesn’t weigh me down and it can be comfortably stashed in a jacket pocket.
There is a dearth of buttons, even fewer than on a point-and-shoot. 3n’s default operational mode is total auto. There are a plethora of manual and semi-manual aperture and shutter priority controls, along with scene settings, easily accessed in the menus.
Speaking of which, the 3n’s menus are presented with function representational icons and graphics, easy to identify and easy to navigate. Plus, each menu item is accompanied by a brief explanation of what the feature is and what it does.
And the 3n works with an Eye-Fi Wi-Fi memory card, which automatically transfers all my photos to my PC as soon as I turn the camera on when I get home.
Oh – the 3n takes great photos, far superior in color, detail, focus and contrast compared to any point-and-shoot I’ve used (save maybe the Sony RX100; see sample photos from this wondrous point-and-shoot digicam here). The 3n also focuses quickly and accurately, although I was never able to predict where the on-screen focus guides would end up.
One appreciated smart aspect is the 3n’s ability to adjust color on the fly. If the ambient lighting is too red, for instance, the camera instantly adjusts and colors end up just as natural as you intended. The change, in fact, can be seen happening right on the screen, which is kind of cool. This instant adjustment removes a lot of Photoshop fixing after-the-fact.
NEX-3n Cons
This may sound petty, but you can’t attach the lens cap to anything. Even though I tried to be exceedingly careful – I lost the lens cap. A major pain in the a-, especially since I haven’t been able to find a replacement.
Off-loading HD movies also is a major pain. For some reason, movies aren’t grouped with the images on the memory card; they don’t even get transmitted with my photos with the Eye-Fi card. Instead, you have to use separate movie/video PC software, such as Apple’s iMovie.
3n’s “play” review button is right next to the shutter release. In a rush, I often hit “play” instead of the shutter release, forcing me to lose the shot.
I wish the 3n’s screen flip down as its default position rather than up – I shoot with the camera over my head far more often than below my waist or for self-portraits. I’m glad I can shoot with the camera upside-down, but this is hardly an elegant solution.
I could not for the life of me figure out how to work the panorama mode.
And for some reason, the camera often decided to crop a shot on its own. I finally discovered this was the result of Auto Object Framing, which Sony says “turns ordinary photos into beautifully balanced compositions by automatically recognizing the scene then cropping accordingly.”
Excuse me? I may not know from aperture and shutter speeds, but I know what I’m aiming at and what I want in the frame, and I assume anyone shooting with such a sophisticated camera has a sense of same. I turned this annoying feature off – the auto object framing didn’t know what the heck it was doing.
But I consider these minor quibbles. The 3n fulfills nearly all my immediate editorial needs, so I will lay out my own hard-earned Washingtons for this price-is-right wonder, and maybe a second, longer lens as well.
Sony NEX-3n: Best Compact System Camera Deal?
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