Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-3

Here is a extensive assessment of the Sony A9 versus Sony NEX-3, one being a Pro Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and they are both built by Sony. There exists a crucial gap among the image resolutions of the A9 (24MP) and NEX-3 (14MP) and the A9 (Full frame) and NEX-3 (APS-C) feature different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The A9 was revealed 6 years later than the NEX-3 and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Sony A9 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick view of how the A9 grades vs the NEX-3 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha A9 and Sony Alpha NEX-3. The full galleries are viewable at Sony A9 Gallery and Sony NEX-3 Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to carry your camera often, you are going to need to factor its weight and volume. The Sony A9 enjoys external dimensions of 127mm x 96mm x 63mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.5") having a weight of 673 grams (1.48 lbs) while the Sony NEX-3 has sizing of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") and a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs).

Analyze the Sony A9 versus Sony NEX-3 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are using at that moment. The following is the front view physical size comparison of the A9 and the NEX-3.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A9 and NEX-3 is 65 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to visualize the contrast in sensor sizing simply by looking through specs. The visual below should provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the A9 and NEX-3.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The A9 having a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Sony A9 will result in extra detail because of its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images far more aggressively. The fresher A9 should have an advantage when it comes to sensor technology.