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Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3

Portability
67
Imaging
50
Features
50
Overall
50
Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-3 front
Portability
89
Imaging
54
Features
55
Overall
54

Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 Key Specs

Sony A330
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.7" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 529g - 128 x 97 x 71mm
  • Announced May 2009
  • Superseded the Sony A300
Sony NEX-3
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 297g - 117 x 62 x 33mm
  • Announced June 2010
  • Refreshed by Sony NEX-C3
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Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 Overview

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).

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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.

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Reasons to pick Sony A330 over the Sony NEX-3

 A330 NEX-3 

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-3 over the Sony A330

 NEX-3 A330 
AnnouncedJune 2010May 2009More recent by 12 months
Screen dimensions3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution920k230kSharper screen (+690k dot)

Common features in the Sony A330 and Sony NEX-3

 A330 NEX-3 
Focus manually Very precise focusing
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither has Touch friendly screen

Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 Physical Comparison

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. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

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.

Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 size comparison

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

Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 top view buttons comparison

Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 Sensor Comparison

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.

Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 sensor size comparison

Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Sony A330
Portrait photography with Sony NEX-3
62
focusing manually
nice sensor size (APS-C)
offers face detect autofocus
saves RAW formats
low resolution (10 megapixels)
72
manual focus
decent MP (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with face detection focusing
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Sony A330 as a Street photography camera
Sony NEX-3 as a Street photography camera
75
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
76
tilting screen
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW files
no image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Sony A330 Sports photography information
Sony NEX-3 Sports photography information
50
image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
has phase detect autofocus
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 fps)
low resolution (10 megapixels)
bad battery (230 CIPA)
52
decent MP (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
no image stabilization
lacks phase detect AF
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Sony A330 Travel photography features
Sony NEX-3 Travel photography features
44
has built in flash
missing Time Lapse recording
bad battery (230 per charge)
low resolution (10 megapixels)
doesn't contain selfie friendly display
59
decent MP (14MP)
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A330 Landscape photography advice
Sony NEX-3 Landscape photography advice
54
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
screen is small (2.7 inches)
low resolution (10 megapixels)
bad battery (230 CIPA)
missing Time Lapse recording
68
manual focus
change lenses (Sony E mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
decent MP (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW files
no image stabilization
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A330 as a Vlogging camera
Sony NEX-3 as a Vlogging camera
9
lack of video recording
27
comes with face detection focusing
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
no image stabilization
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
doesn't have external mic jack
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Sony A330 vs Sony NEX-3 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A330 and Sony NEX-3
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A330Sony Alpha NEX-3
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model Sony Alpha DSLR-A330 Sony Alpha NEX-3
Class Entry-Level DSLR Entry-Level Mirrorless
Announced 2009-05-18 2010-06-07
Body design Compact SLR Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size APS-C APS-C
Sensor dimensions 23.5 x 15.7mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 369.0mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 3872 x 2592 4592 x 3056
Max native ISO 3200 12800
Lowest native ISO 100 200
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 9 25
Lens
Lens mounting type Sony/Minolta Alpha Sony E
Amount of lenses 143 121
Focal length multiplier 1.5 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Tilting
Screen sizing 2.7" 3"
Screen resolution 230 thousand dot 920 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Screen technology - TFT Xtra Fine LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.49x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 3.0fps 7.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 10.00 m 12.00 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160 seconds 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution None 1280x720
Video data format - MPEG-4
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 529g (1.17 pounds) 297g (0.65 pounds)
Physical dimensions 128 x 97 x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") 117 x 62 x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 64 68
DXO Color Depth score 22.4 22.1
DXO Dynamic range score 11.5 12.0
DXO Low light score 535 830
Other
Battery life 230 pictures 330 pictures
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model NP-FH50 NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images))
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Launch price $545 $0