Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3

Let's look a bit more closely at the Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both are offered by Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the A330 (10MP) and NEX-3 (14MP) but both cameras boast the same sensor measurements (APS-C).

Photography Glossary

The A330 was released 12 months before the NEX-3 so they are both of a similar age. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A330 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go straight to a in depth comparison, here is a brief overview of how the A330 grades versus the NEX-3 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 & Sony Alpha NEX-3. The complete galleries are available at Sony A330 Gallery & Sony NEX-3 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera often, you need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Sony A330 has outside measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") along with a weight of 529 grams (1.17 lbs) and the Sony NEX-3 has dimensions of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") with a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs).

Check out the Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are employing during that time. Here is a front view dimensions comparison of the A330 vs the NEX-3.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A330 and NEX-3 is 67 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, it can be tough to see the difference between sensor measurements simply by going over a spec sheet. The graphic here may offer you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the A330 and NEX-3.

As you can see, each of these cameras have the same sensor dimensions albeit not the same resolution. You can count on the Sony NEX-3 to offer you greater detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older A330 is going to be behind in sensor tech.