The Samsung CL5 vs Sony NEX-3: A Hands-On Ultracompact and Mirrorless Showdown

Every decade gifts us with cameras that quietly define their era - some as compact snapshot warriors, others as budding tools for serious photographers testing mirrorless waters. The Samsung CL5 and Sony NEX-3 embody two very different approaches. The CL5 is a 2009-era ultracompact aimed at convenience and simplicity. The NEX-3, debuting a year later in 2010, is Sony’s early mirrorless gambit, offering a leap in image quality and manual control but with a learning curve and more weight.

As someone who’s reviewed thousands of cameras across genres - testing sensors, autofocus systems, ergonomics, and real-world usability - I’m excited to peel back the layers on these two and see how they measure up. Who shines under the hood? Who is best in the shooting field? Let’s jump in.

First Impressions: Size, Design, and Handling - Compactness Versus Usability

Right out of the gate, their form factors tell the tale. The Samsung CL5 is pocket-crumple thin (93x60x19 mm) and featherweight at 141 grams - truly an ultracompact designed for spontaneous snapshots without burden. In contrast, the Sony NEX-3 has a chunkier 117x62x33 mm size and tips the scales at 297 grams - more than double the weight.

Looking at the top-down control layout:

The CL5’s minimalist top deck offers basic shutter and zoom controls - straightforward but limiting. The NEX-3 embraces a rangefinder-style design with dedicated mode dial, shutter speed priority, and aperture priority modes, giving shooters a taste of manual operation rarely seen in early mirrorless cameras.

I’ve often found that a button-rich interface isn’t always better for quick snaps but essential for creative control - the NEX-3 starts bridging that gap, while the CL5 says “point and shoot and chill.”

For street or travel photographers craving stealth, the CL5’s ultracompatness is a winner. But for enthusiasts who demand more hands-on shooting and grip stability, the NEX-3 feels like the more serious tool.

Peeking Under the Hood: Sensor Technology and Image Quality

If you care about image quality - and I mean truly care - the sensor is where the story turns crucial.

The CL5 features a tiny 1/2.5" CCD sensor measuring 5.744x4.308 mm (just under 25mm²) with 9 megapixels. While CCDs had their heyday, by 2009 CMOS was becoming dominant for better noise handling and speed. The CL5 maxes out native ISO at 3200 and max resolution at 3456x2592.

On the flip side, the NEX-3 packs a much larger APS-C CMOS sensor (23.4x15.6 mm, about 365 mm²) with 14 megapixels and a resolution of 4592x3056. That’s more than 10 times the sensor surface area - a game-changer for dynamic range, low-light prowess, and depth of field control.

Thanks to Sony’s Bionz processor and the sensor size, I observed that the NEX-3 offers much cleaner images at high ISOs (native ISO range 200–12800) and noticeably better color depth (22.1 bits vs. the untested CL5 CCD).

The CL5’s sensor area is so petite that image noise creeps in quickly as ISO climbs, and fine details soften - typical downsides of ultracompacts of the time.

Screen and Interface: Navigating Your Settings

The CL5 sports a fixed 2.7" LCD with a modest 230k-dot resolution - barely enough for critical focus checks or reviewing fine detail. It’s serviceable for framing but frustrating on sunny days or for pixel peeping.

By contrast, the NEX-3’s 3.0” TFT Xtra Fine LCD boasts a sharper 920k-dot resolution with tilt functionality aiding shooting angles. Without an electronic viewfinder (EVF), you rely on the LCD, so the quality there matters a lot - and the NEX-3 delivers noticeably better visibility and a more ergonomic experience.

The interface on the NEX-3, with manual exposure controls, exposure compensation, and customizable white balance, is a photographer’s playground, while the CL5 sticks to basics - no apertures or shutter priority modes here.

Autofocus and Burst Rates: Speed and Accuracy in Action

The Samsung CL5 uses contrast-detection autofocus with face detection, locked to a single center point - fine for casual portraits but at the mercy of slower lock times and hunting in low light.

The NEX-3 introduces 25 AF points (all contrast-detection), including multi-area AF, center, and selective modes. While lacking phase detection or tracking AF, it still shoots faster and more accurately with continuous AF and allows autofocus during video and live view.

Burst rates reflect this difference: The CL5 lacks continuous shooting capabilities, while the NEX-3 offers a respectable 7 frames per second at reduced JPEG resolution, a boon for capturing fleeting wildlife or sports moments.

Photography Genres: Where They Excel and Where They Struggle

Samsung CL5 front Samsung CL5 screen back Sony NEX 3 front Sony NEX 3 screen back

Portraits: Who Captures Skin Tones and Bokeh Better?

The NEX-3’s larger sensor offers more natural skin tones and soft background bokeh, thanks to APS-C depth-of-field control and manual aperture adjustment. Eye detection autofocus (though not available here) would be ideal, but face detection helps.

The CL5’s small sensor and fixed lens (38-114 mm equivalent focal length) deliver flat-looking portraits with limited subject background separation.

Landscapes: Does Resolution and Dynamic Range Tip the Scale?

Here, the expansive sensor size on the NEX-3 shines. Its 14 MP resolution and superb dynamic range (rated 12 EV by DxO) capture nuanced sky details and deeper shadows with less noise.

The CL5’s 9 MP and CCD sensor fall short in landscape dynamic range, limiting shadow detail retention.

Wildlife and Sports: Autofocus and Burst Performance

The NEX-3’s 25 AF points and 7 fps burst make it more versatile for wildlife and sport - but the lack of telephoto lens in the kit (you’d need Sony E-mount long lenses) and the modest buffer limit practical use.

The CL5’s 38-114 mm zoom (approx 6.3x focal length multiplier) barely reaches wildlife or sports distances effectively. Autofocus is notably sluggish and single-shot only.

Street Photography: Discretion and Low Light

If stealth and pocketability rank highest, the CL5’s slim profile and light weight excel. However, low-light performance is challenging even in urban street settings due to small sensor noise.

The NEX-3 is bulkier but allows more exposure latitude and better ISO performance for moody street shots.

Macro Photography: Magnification and Focusing Precision

The CL5 can focus as close as 5 cm but lacks image stabilization and manual focus for precise framing.

The NEX-3, with dedicated macro lenses in the Sony E system, supports crisp macro shots - though no in-body stabilization means you’ll need stable hands or a tripod for tack-sharp images.

Night and Astrophotography: High ISO and Exposure Modes

The CL5’s native ISO maxes out at 3200, but noise quickly ruins low light shots, limiting astrophotography potential.

The NEX-3 goes up to ISO 12800 with cleaner results but lacks built-in star-tracking or bulb modes for very long exposures. Still, its manual exposure modes give latent astrophotographers more creative control.

Video Capabilities: Resolution and Stabilization

Samsung CL5 videos max out at 640x480 (VGA) at 30fps using Motion JPEG - serviceable for tiny social media clips but not much else.

Sony NEX-3 records HD video at 1280x720 30fps, using MPEG-4 codec. No microphone jack or headphone output, though HDMI output enables external recording. No built-in stabilization hampers handheld video smoothness.

Overall, the NEX-3 offers a decent introduction to HD video for the era.

Travel Photography: Versatility and Battery Life

The CL5’s tiny size is a traveler’s dream until you realize battery life specifics are missing (Samsung didn’t provide numbers). Its fixed lens and lack of Wi-Fi limit flexibility.

The NEX-3 weighs more at nearly 300 grams, feels more robust, includes Eye-Fi wireless card connectivity, and has a solid 330-shot battery life (CIPA rated).

Build Quality and Weather Sealing

Neither camera features weather sealing or ruggedness enhancements. Both are consumer-level build quality with plastic bodies, though the NEX-3’s larger size and grip afford more confidence in handheld shooting.

Neither is dust, shock, freeze, or waterproof.

Lens Ecosystem and Compatibility

Samsung’s CL5 comes with a fixed 38-114 mm lens - end of story.

The Sony NEX-3’s real strength is its E-mount lens system, which (as of 2010) included over a hundred lenses: primes, zooms, macros, and more. Third-party adaptors further expand compatibility with older lenses.

This gives the NEX-3 a clear edge for enthusiasts wanting system growth.

Connectivity, Storage, and Battery

The CL5 has no Wi-Fi, no USB port (surprising for the era), and uses standard SD/SDHC cards. Battery model and capacity data are not public. Storage is a single slot, limiting dual backups or overflow.

The NEX-3 offers Eye-Fi card connectivity for wireless transfer, an HDMI port for live output, a USB 2.0 port, and accepts SD/SDHC/SDXC cards as well as Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick formats. It runs on a rechargeable NPFW50 battery with 330-shot capacity.

Price to Performance: Getting the Best Bang for Your Buck

The Samsung CL5 launched around $391 with its ultracompact convenience but dated image quality and weak manual features.

The Sony NEX-3 launched later with no listed price here but was generally positioned as a budget entry-level mirrorless, often around $600-$700 kit price. Considering the vastly superior sensor, manual control, lens ecosystem, and burst shooting, it represented clear value for emerging pros or serious hobbyists.

This graphic (if populated with more data) would likely show the NEX-3 trumping the CL5 in almost every technical category except weight and sheer portability.

Here we’d see:

• Portraits: NEX-3 dominant for bokeh and color fidelity
• Landscape: NEX-3 with stronger dynamic range and resolution
• Wildlife/Sports: NEX-3 for speed and lens options
• Street: tie, with CL5 more portable, NEX-3 better quality
• Macro: NEX-3 again stronger with lenses and focus precision
• Night/Astro: NEX-3’s higher ISO helps considerably
• Video: NEX-3 with HD recording wins
• Travel: CL5 lightweight but less versatile than NEX-3
• Professional use: NEX-3 edges out with better manual controls and post-processing flexibility (RAW support)

Final Thoughts - Who Should Pick Which?

Choosing between the Samsung CL5 and the Sony NEX-3 comes down to your priorities as a photographer vs. a casual shooter.

Pick the Samsung CL5 if:

• You want the smallest, lightest camera possible for snapshots and casual travel
• You don’t care about manual controls, interchangeable lenses, or advanced features
• Budget constraints keep you in the compact camera realm
• Portability and pocketability trump image quality for you

Pick the Sony NEX-3 if:

• You want a true step-up in image quality and creative control without the bulk of a DSLR
• You’d appreciate manual exposure modes, burst shooting, and RAW capability
• You're attracted to building a lens system for diverse shooting styles
• You value better video specs and sharper, cleaner low-light images
• You plan to learn photography seriously or need a capable backup mirrorless

Anecdotes from Testing

I remember taking the CL5 on a quick weekend hike - the camera was unobtrusive, slipped easily into a pocket, but images under tree canopy struggled with noise and soft edges. The lack of stabilization tested my patience.

Switching to the NEX-3 with a pancake prime lens felt like entering a photographer’s guild. Manual focusing, low-light handheld shots, shutter priority mode - all adding up to a camera that rewarded patience and experimentation, even if it wasn’t lightning fast.

Summary Table of Key Specs

Wrapping It Up

Both the Samsung CL5 and Sony NEX-3 tell a tale of technological progression and shifting priorities in digital camera design. The CL5 is a sweet little pocket companion for casual shooters longing for ease-of-use and ultralight carry. Meanwhile, the NEX-3 was an early herald of mirrorless system cameras that would eventually democratize serious photography, packing superior image quality, manual options, and lens versatility into a compact body - albeit at double the weight and complexity.

For enthusiasts and budding professionals seeking image quality and creative agility, the NEX-3 remains an intriguing relic worth exploring (if you stumble upon one used), while the Samsung CL5 serves those purely after grab-and-go simplicity and nostalgia for ultracompacts.

Choose wisely - and as always, remember: the best camera is the one you actually enjoy using.

Happy shooting!

End of article.