It’s hard to imagine how you could improve an already good camera in less than a year, but Sony has risen to the challenge. The NEX-C3 has become smaller and lighter, reclaiming its title as the smallest “system” camera when it was released. It’s already becoming a tradition. It’s interesting that competitors with small sensors can’t offer anything against it: after all the promises to reduce bodies and optics their cameras turn out to be bigger anyway. In practical terms the NEX-C3 is not much different from the usual compacts, and with a small “flat” lens “pellet” 16 mm F2,8 and it becomes a typical “soapbox”, easily fitting into a pocket.
16.2-megapixel resolution, 18-55 mm Zoom, 3-inch display, F3.5-5.6 16 mm F2.8
Lightweight and simple – a major trend in the latest and future non-small sized cameras. Panasonic has already released a couple of models strictly along these lines, while Sony has yet the first attempt – a super light and very simple NEX-C3 for photographers who want DSLR quality in a compact body and with simple, compact-like controls.
The C3, as its name suggests, is a variation on the previous generation NEX, but without a few significant improvements.
The device became even more compact and smaller: the smallest “system” camera this is already becoming a tradition smaller even than competitors standard “four-thirds” despite the larger sensor.
To put it bluntly, the camera is already, except for the optics, no different from ordinary compacts, and with a small “flat” lens like the “kit” wide-angle 16 mm F2,8 – and quite a typical compact, easily fitting into a pocket, for example. Like the NEX-3, the novelty is equipped with a folding 3-inch display 922 thousandths . It has no built-in flash and is not equipped with a manual flash.
New 16 megapixel sensor raises the bar on resolution as well as image quality while increasing energy efficiency. This is how the designers coped with the problematic autonomy of the first generation NEX, bringing the battery life to 400 shots on a full charge. Like its predecessor, the NEX-C3 is equipped with a 3-inch flip-down display 922 thousand pixels . dots and does not have a built-in flash.
As for ease of understanding, the developers built in a modern “target” control system. Now instead of setting things like aperture or white balance still quite abstract for many amateurs the user only has to tell the camera that he wants the background to be blurry and the colors warm or wants to make the picture bright and elephantiasis. For all of this there are clear icons and a system for quickly switching and adjusting the desired effects.
As a result, on the one hand the system camera’s advanced features are used to its full potential, and on the other hand it does not cause you to rack your brains with unnecessary technical details. In the process of updating the firmware, you can get popular digital effects like bleaching, retrophotography, staining pop art photos and others. Filters are already built into the NEX-C3, and owners of the old NEX-3 and NEX-5 can get them after a firmware update.
The younger C3 doesn’t have more noteworthy characteristics that the NEX-5N and NEX-7 had, but it doesn’t need them either. Small size and weight, easy operation, nice design and relatively low cost make it both an excellent step “up” for a compact camera owner who wants DSLR quality and not a bad step “down” for a DSLR owner who wants to have an additional compact camera with high shooting quality. In either case, the NEX-C3 will prove to be, if not exceptional, then a very attractive choice.
It is obvious that NEX-C3 is designed primarily for amateurs, and offers them very interesting advantages enthusiasts too could choose the device at least because of the compactness, and with manual control in the camera is ok, but it would be logical to wait for something like NEX-C5, which is likely to be aimed at experienced photographers .
The user can choose the camera will be sold in pink, black and silver bodies, as well as in different options: with a standard 18-55 mm lens and a wide-angle 16 mm “pill”.
Simultaneously with the camera company finally expanded the line of optics for a smaller proprietary lens mount. True, instead of the long-awaited “tripod” there is a lens with the suitable focal length of 30 mm, but “dark” and specialized for macro photography: the aperture is only F3,5, but with the scale of 1:1 and it is relatively compact.
What is the overall performance and image quality like when using the mirrorless camera Sony NEX-C3? Is it suitable for beginners looking for a lightweight and user-friendly option?