Sony NEX-3 vs Sony W690

Lets take a deeper look at the Sony NEX-3 versus Sony W690, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are built by Sony. The image resolution of the NEX-3 (14MP) and the W690 (16MP) is very well matched but the NEX-3 (APS-C) and W690 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor sizing.

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The NEX-3 was manufactured 21 months prior to the W690 making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W690 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a complete comparison, below is a quick summation of how the NEX-3 grades against the W690 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Alpha NEX-3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690. The entire galleries are provided at Sony NEX-3 Gallery & Sony W690 Gallery.

If you are intending to carry around your camera regularly, you will want to factor its weight and proportions. The Sony NEX-3 features 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) whilst the Sony W690 has measurements of 94mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Compare the Sony NEX-3 versus Sony W690 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have chosen during that time. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the NEX-3 and the W690.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability grade of the NEX-3 and W690 is 89 and 95 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is very hard to see the gap between sensor sizes only by looking at specs. The image here may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the NEX-3 and W690.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The NEX-3 due to its larger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field less difficult and the Sony W690 will resolve more detail due to its extra 2MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop images much more aggressively. The more aged NEX-3 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.