Sony A390 vs Sony NEX-3

The following is a thorough overview of the Sony A390 and Sony NEX-3, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both of them are created by Sony. The image resolution of the A390 (14MP) and the NEX-3 (14MP) is very well matched and they come with the exact same sensor dimensions (APS-C).

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The A390 was released 2 months after the NEX-3 so they are of a similar age. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a short summation of how the A390 matches up versus the NEX-3 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 & Sony Alpha NEX-3. The complete galleries are provided at Sony A390 Gallery & Sony NEX-3 Gallery.

For anyone who is intending to travel with your camera regularly, you're going to have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Sony A390 provides physical measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") accompanied by a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs) and the Sony NEX-3 has dimensions of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs).

Take a look at the Sony A390 and Sony NEX-3 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are employing at that moment. Here is the front view sizing comparison of the A390 and the NEX-3.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A390 and NEX-3 is 66 and 89 respectively.

More often than not, it can be tough to visualise the gap between sensor dimensions only by looking at technical specs. The image below will offer you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the A390 and NEX-3.

As you have seen, both of the cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements and the identical megapixels so you can expect similar quality of pictures though you need to take the age of the products into consideration.