Sony NEX-C3 vs Sony S2100
91 Imaging
56 Features
57 Overall
56


93 Imaging
35 Features
17 Overall
27
Sony NEX-C3 vs Sony S2100 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 16MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 100 - 12800
- 1280 x 720 video
- Sony E Mount
- 225g - 110 x 60 x 33mm
- Launched August 2011
- Superseded the Sony NEX-3
- New Model is Sony NEX-F3
(Full Review)
- 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 3200
- 640 x 480 video
- 33-105mm (F3.1-5.6) lens
- 167g - 98 x 61 x 27mm
- Revealed January 2010

Sony NEX-C3 vs Sony S2100 Overview
Let's look more closely at the Sony NEX-C3 and Sony S2100, former is a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are manufactured by Sony. There exists a noticeable gap between the sensor resolutions of the NEX-C3 (16MP) and S2100 (12MP) and the NEX-C3 (APS-C) and S2100 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor measurements.

The NEX-C3 was launched 20 months after the S2100 which makes them a generation away from one another. Both the cameras have different body design with the Sony NEX-C3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony S2100 being a Compact camera.
Before getting into a more detailed comparison, here is a quick summary of how the NEX-C3 scores against the S2100 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Sony NEX-C3 vs Sony S2100 Gallery
The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Sony Alpha NEX-C3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100. The complete galleries are viewable at Sony NEX-C3 Gallery & Sony S2100 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Sony NEX-C3 over the Sony S2100
NEX-C3 | S2100 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Revealed | August 2011 | ![]() | January 2010 | Newer by 20 months |
Focus manually | ![]() | Dial accurate focusing | ||
Screen type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting screen |
Screen resolution | 920k | ![]() | 230k | Sharper screen (+690k dot) |
Reasons to pick Sony S2100 over the Sony NEX-C3
S2100 | NEX-C3 |
---|
Common features in the Sony NEX-C3 and Sony S2100
NEX-C3 | S2100 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Screen dimensions | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Equal screen measurements |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither provides selfie screen | ||
Touch friendly screen | ![]() | Lacking Touch friendly screen |
Sony NEX-C3 vs Sony S2100 Physical Comparison
When you are looking to travel with your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Sony NEX-C3 provides outside measurements of 110mm x 60mm x 33mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 225 grams (0.50 lbs) and the Sony S2100 has measurements of 98mm x 61mm x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") having a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).
Analyze the Sony NEX-C3 and Sony S2100 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have chosen during that time. Following is a front view scale comparison of the NEX-C3 against the S2100.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the NEX-C3 and S2100 is 91 and 93 respectively.

Sony NEX-C3 vs Sony S2100 Sensor Comparison
More often than not, its tough to see the difference between sensor dimensions purely by checking specs. The pic below will give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the NEX-C3 and S2100.
All in all, the 2 cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The NEX-C3 due to its bigger sensor will make getting bokeh less difficult and the Sony NEX-C3 will give you extra detail utilizing its extra 4MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop photographs more aggressively. The more modern NEX-C3 is going to have an edge with regard to sensor technology.

Sony NEX-C3 vs Sony S2100 Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Sony NEX-C3 vs Sony S2100 Specifications
Sony Alpha NEX-C3 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Manufacturer | Sony | Sony |
Model type | Sony Alpha NEX-C3 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 |
Class | Entry-Level Mirrorless | Small Sensor Compact |
Launched | 2011-08-22 | 2010-01-07 |
Physical type | Rangefinder-style mirrorless | Compact |
Sensor Information | ||
Chip | Bionz | Bionz |
Sensor type | CMOS | CCD |
Sensor size | APS-C | 1/2.3" |
Sensor dimensions | 23.4 x 15.6mm | 6.17 x 4.55mm |
Sensor area | 365.0mm² | 28.1mm² |
Sensor resolution | 16MP | 12MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 3:2 and 16:9 | 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 |
Peak resolution | 4912 x 3264 | 4000 x 3000 |
Highest native ISO | 12800 | 3200 |
Minimum native ISO | 100 | 100 |
RAW images | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch focus | ||
Continuous autofocus | ||
Single autofocus | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Autofocus selectice | ||
Center weighted autofocus | ||
Autofocus multi area | ||
Live view autofocus | ||
Face detect focus | ||
Contract detect focus | ||
Phase detect focus | ||
Total focus points | 25 | 9 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | Sony E | fixed lens |
Lens zoom range | - | 33-105mm (3.2x) |
Maximum aperture | - | f/3.1-5.6 |
Macro focusing range | - | 5cm |
Amount of lenses | 121 | - |
Crop factor | 1.5 | 5.8 |
Screen | ||
Display type | Tilting | Fixed Type |
Display diagonal | 3 inch | 3 inch |
Resolution of display | 920 thousand dots | 230 thousand dots |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch friendly | ||
Display technology | TFT Xtra Fine LCD | - |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder | None | None |
Features | ||
Minimum shutter speed | 30 secs | 1 secs |
Fastest shutter speed | 1/4000 secs | 1/1200 secs |
Continuous shutter rate | 6.0 frames/s | 1.0 frames/s |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Manual mode | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | - |
Set white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash distance | no built-in flash | 3.30 m |
Flash settings | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in | Auto, On, Off, Slow syncro |
External flash | ||
Auto exposure bracketing | ||
White balance bracketing | ||
Fastest flash synchronize | 1/160 secs | - |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment exposure | ||
Average exposure | ||
Spot exposure | ||
Partial exposure | ||
AF area exposure | ||
Center weighted exposure | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) |
Highest video resolution | 1280x720 | 640x480 |
Video file format | MPEG-4 | Motion JPEG |
Mic support | ||
Headphone support | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | Eye-Fi Connected | None |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environment sealing | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 225 grams (0.50 lbs) | 167 grams (0.37 lbs) |
Physical dimensions | 110 x 60 x 33mm (4.3" x 2.4" x 1.3") | 98 x 61 x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall rating | 73 | not tested |
DXO Color Depth rating | 22.7 | not tested |
DXO Dynamic range rating | 12.2 | not tested |
DXO Low light rating | 1083 | not tested |
Other | ||
Battery life | 400 photographs | - |
Type of battery | Battery Pack | - |
Battery ID | NPFW50 | 2 x AA |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10 sec 3 or 5 images) | Yes (2 or 10 sec) |
Time lapse shooting | ||
Type of storage | SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo | Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo, optional SD, Internal |
Card slots | 1 | 1 |
Pricing at release | $343 | $0 |