Sony was one of the first manufacturers to enter into the compact system camera (CSC) arena, and as such it has a reasonable heritage with its NEX series. Although it doesn’t quite have the lens range of its Micro Four Thirds competitors, it is still streets ahead of the competition from Nikon and Canon, with each of the cameras in its range now in its third or fourth generation.
The Sony NEX-3N is the company’s new introduction to its cheapest and most basic entry-level CSC range. It replaces the Sony NEX-F3 and has a redesigned chassis, which makes it the smallest and lightest CSC to feature an APS-C sized sensor.
Aiming pretty squarely at compact camera "step-up" users, the camera has a 16.1 million pixel sensor, the same device that can be found in the Sony NEX-5R, which was introduced towards the end of 2012.
It also features a 180-degree tilting LCD screen, which is ideal for framing self-portraits. Unlike the Sony NEX-5R, the Sony NEX-3N doesn’t feature a touchscreen. This seems like a bit of a shame, especially considering the target audience is likely to be used to the convenience of smartphones, but it’s likely that it would have added a premium to the camera’s price, which Sony is trying to avoid.
It comes bundled as standard with an 18-55mm power zoom lens, which is also very small, and helps contribute to the overall small size.
One feature which is new for the camera is area-specific noise reduction, which was developed for the top-of-the-line Sony Alpha a99 DSLT. This works to classify dimly lit images automatically and adapt noise reduction as appropriate, such as for flat areas, textures or edges.
This should mean that although the sensor and imaging engine is the same as for the Sony NEX-5R, low light images will be better from the Sony NEX-3N. We’ll be keen to assess this when a full production sample becomes available for a full review.
Also new is Auto Object Framing, which is a follow on from Auto Portrait framing as found in several other Sony CSCs and DSLTs. Whereas before this worked to better frame portraits, it can now be extended to pretty much any object, as well as portraits.
Auto Macro Framing is also included, as well Auto Tracking Framing, which has the ability to determine the direction of movement a subject is going on, so as to keep continuous autofocus.
Build quality and handling
At first glance, the Sony NEX-3N bears more than a passing resemblance to its older sibling, the Sony NEX-5R. Sony says that it has done this intentionally, since the 5R has sold so well.
Now, we have in the 3N a much sleeker body with a high quality feel, thanks to the metallic finish. It’s also been shrunk down a significant amount, but without being too small so as to feel cheap.
The kit lens, being a power zoom, is also a good chunk smaller, making this a much more convenient option to slip into a bag, or possibly a large jacket pocket.
Although the grip at the front of the camera is smaller than on both its predecessor and the Sony NEX-5R, it’s still solid enough to give you confidence when shooting one-handed.
There’s no mode dial on top of the camera, unlike some of the other higher-specced cameras in the range. Instead, a virtual dial can be accessed by pressing a button on the back of the camera. This is a little fiddly if you want to quickly change between modes, but given the target audience, it’s completely understandable.
For the first time in a NEX camera, a zoom lever can be found around the shutter release. This is very similar to those found on compact cameras, such as those in Sony’s Cyber-Shot range, and enables you to zoom the lens in and out without having to touch the lens itself. When using a fixed focal length lens, this activates the Clear Image Zooming, if that’s turned on.
This is especially handy when shooting self portraits, where twisting the lens might be awkward, or when shooting videos and you want to avoid moving the lens and introducing blur.
The tilting screen is very handy for shooting from awkward angles, and it seems perfect for the target audience. It’s a little bit of a shame it doesn’t fully articulate, which would be more useful for shooting vertical images, but that would likely increase size and weight. As it is, when the screen is fully recessed, it sits very flush against the body of the camera and adds to its sleekness.
As with several other cameras in Sony’s range, the buttons on the back of the camera are customisable, which is useful for making the camera work exactly as you’d like it to – and it means that if you find that you regularly use one particular setting you can have it ready very quickly.
Performance
As with any preview, it’s difficult to make any firm comments on the performance of a camera, but we have good hopes for the Sony NEX-3N.
Since we have already reviewed the Sony NEX-5R and it has the same sensor and processor, we can be reasonably confident that image quality will be on a par, and we have been very impressed with the output from Sony’s compact system camera range of late.
As previously mentioned, we’ll be very interested to see how the new noise reduction technology works, and having seen the Auto Portrait Framing work well previously, we’ll be keen to see how the new Auto Object Framing compares as well.
Although we weren’t able to test out the screen in an outdoor environment, it seemed to be a good performer, not suffering too badly from glare or reflections.
Although there’s no viewfinder, the ability to tilt the screen should help out in bright sunlight conditions. The fact that it’s not touch-sensitive also means the screen is less likely to get smudged by fingerprints.
In our time with the camera we were also able to see that autofocusing is quick and generally accurate, while the power zoom lens seems capable of producing bright and clear images. Again, having used this lens previously on the Sony NEX-5R, we can be reasonably confident that it will perform well.
Early verdict
It’s interesting to note that Sony has seen great successes with its Sony NEX-5R CSC, and as such, is pitching this as a lower budget version of that camera.
As it stands, Sony says that people have been willing to spend extra to get the NEX-5R, with its more premium construction and extra features. It’ll therefore be interesting to see if the new NEX-3N can tempt even more users to trade up from their compact cameras.
With the same impressive sensor as the Sony NEX-5R, we feel confident that the Sony NEX-3N will be a good performer too, so watch this space.
Related Stories
 |
 |