Sony NEX-3 vs Sony W370

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Sony NEX-3 and Sony W370, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are produced by Sony. The image resolution of the NEX-3 (14MP) and the W370 (14MP) is very similar but the NEX-3 (APS-C) and W370 (1/2.3") boast different sensor sizing.

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The NEX-3 was brought out 6 months later than the W370 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W370 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple view of how the NEX-3 grades versus the W370 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Alpha NEX-3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370. The entire galleries are available at Sony NEX-3 Gallery & Sony W370 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to lug around your camera, you should factor in its weight and proportions. The Sony NEX-3 comes with outside measurements of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") having a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs) and the Sony W370 has measurements of 100mm x 57mm x 26mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 1.0") accompanied by a weight of 179 grams (0.39 lbs).

Examine the Sony NEX-3 and Sony W370 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen during that time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the NEX-3 against the W370.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the NEX-3 and W370 is 89 and 94 respectively.

Typically, it can be hard to imagine the difference between sensor measurements simply by reading specs. The photograph below should provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the NEX-3 and W370.

All in all, each of these cameras feature the identical megapixel count but different sensor measurements. The NEX-3 uses the larger sensor which will make achieving shallow DOF simpler.