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Sony A3000

 
Sony Alpha A3000 front
 
Portability
69
Imaging
62
Features
54
Overall
58

Sony A3000 summary

Sony A3000 is Sony's Entry-Level Mirrorless camera first revealed on August of 2013. It uses a 20 MegaPixel, CMOS APS-C sized sensor and has a max resolution of 5456 x 3632.

Sony introduced the updated Sony a3500 (Read Full Comparison) as a way to update this camera.

The A3000 comes in at #68 out of 117 in Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras & overall #336 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our list. You should test our Advanced camera filter to find camera ratings based on your personal requirements.

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The following is a graph of specific factors used in the rating system.

Sony A3000 family

The Sony A3000 is part of a family of cameras. You can view the detailed range underneath.

ModelVisualizeResolutionSensor SizeMax fpsReleased
Sony-Alpha-a5100 front thumbnailSony a5100
A3000 vs a5100
24MPAPS-C6.0 fps2014
Sony-Alpha-a3500 front thumbnailSony a3500
A3000 vs a3500
20MPAPS-C4.0 fps2014
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Sony-Alpha-a5000 front thumbnailSony a5000
A3000 vs a5000
20MPAPS-C4.0 fps2014
Sony-Alpha-A3000 front thumbnailSony A300020MPAPS-C3.0 fps2013

Sony A3000 Pros and Cons

Below is a selection of good and bad points of the Sony A3000 based on things which are often considered useful in a camera.

above average minimum ISO (100)
does have HDMI socket
features face detection focus
features tracking autofocus
focusing manually
good sized screen (3 inches)
great battery pack (470 per charge)
has built in flash
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
MP count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports RAW files
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
display isn't selfie friendly
doesn't have phase detect auto focus
missing external microphone socket
missing headphone socket
missing Timelapse function
more heavy than competition (411g)
no image stabilization
no moving screen
painfully slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
screen has low resolution (230 thousand dots)
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Sony A3000 Sensor specifications

The Sony A3000 features the BIONZ image chip. The spec of the sensor on the Sony A3000 is 23.5mm x 15.6mm (APS-C). The 367 mm² sensor has the ability to capture 5456 x 3632 pixels and aspect ratios of 3:2 and 16:9.

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The CMOS sensor has 20 megapixels and supports a native ISO range of 100 to 16000. RAW photos are supported so the user has wider margin for error.

The image underneath shows the A3000's sensor dimensions in comparison to other common sizes. The A3000 sensor has a crop factor of 1.5 and is showcased in green.

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To get a sense of different aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Camera sensor aspect ratios

Sony A3000 dimensions

Sony A3000 weighs around 0.91 lb (411g / 14.50 oz) & the volume of the camera is 128mm x 91mm x 85mm (5.0" x 3.6" x 3.3"). The weight of typical Entry-Level Mirrorless camera is 329g and the Sony A3000 is weightier in comparison with various rivals.

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Down below is a image of the Sony A3000 beside a soft drink to help you get a sense of its scale.

Sony Alpha A3000 dimensions scale

The top view under will illustrate the button layout on the A3000.

Sony Alpha A3000 topview buttons dials

Sony A3000 Lens specifications

The A3000 works with the Sony E mount and has 170 lenses to choose from. Below is a small number of the lenses we have in our collection which will work with the A3000.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight
Venus-Laowa-25mm-F2.8-2.5-5X-Ultra-Macro-Sony-E lensVenus Laowa 25mm F2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro25mmf/2.8400g
Fujinon-MK-50-135mm-T2.9 lensFujinon MK 50-135mm T2.950-135mmf/2.8980g
Photography Glossary
Sigma-20mm-F2-DG-DN-C-E-Mount lensSigma 20mm F2 DG DN C20mmf/2.0 370g
Samyang-AF-24mm-F1.8-FE lensSamyang AF 24mm F1.8 FE24mmf/1.8 230g
Sony-FE-16-35mm-F2.8-GM lensSony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM16-35mmf/2.8680g
Sony-E-30mm-F3.5-Macro lensSony E 30mm F3.5 Macro30mmf/3.5 138g
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Sony-E-PZ-18-105mm-F4-G-OSS lensSony E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS18-105mmf/4.0 482g
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Sony A3000 Connectivity

The A3000 has the following connectivity:

  • USB Yes
  • HDMI Yes

Digital cameras that include NFC and Bluetooth support are able to be used wirelessly via smartphones. You will be able to send pictures and in some cases alter settings without connecting straight to the camera.

Some applications even enable a Liveview and hit the shutter when you are not near the camera. If the camera comes with a HDMI port, it can easily be attached to an external display. Most cameras enable you to recharge the battery pack using the USB socket.

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Sony A3000 Video specifications

The max video resolution on the Sony A3000 is 1920 x 1080 and you can shoot in AVCHD, H.264 and MP4 format. 1080p resolution will provide a decent balance between quality vs file sizes but 1080p is not going to give you any room to downsample. The camera does not have a microphone and headphone socket so you have got little control over the audio. It is perhaps best to look into a different model should you need good audio for your video clips.

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Sony A3000 Weather Sealing

There is no environment sealing on the Sony A3000 so you need to be careful in wet and dusty situations.

Sony A3000 Display and Viewfinder

The Sony A3000 houses a 3 inch fixed display screen supporting a resolution of 230 thousand dots.

Please note that the display has no touch support.

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The View Finder specifications for Sony A3000 are the following:

  • ViewFinder Electronic
  • ViewFinder Coverage 100%
  • ViewFinder Magnification 0.47x

Viewfinders are pretty handy during sunny outdoor situations which will make the camera display washed out and very difficult to see.

Sony A3000 Shutter specifications

Sony A3000 continuous shooting rate is 3.0 frames per second. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 sec.

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Sony A3000 Flash and Hot shoe specifications

Sony A3000 features both in-built flash along with external flash support. The highest flash sync is 1/160 sec.

Sony A3000 Autofocusing specifications

Sony A3000 features just Contrast Detect AF & is missing Phase Detect AF. Phase Detection focusing is a lot quicker & precise in comparison with Contrast Detect focusing. The camera boasts Face detect making it helpful for taking photos of people.

The Sensor boasts 25 focus points to choose from. It also features Tracking AF for moving things. Sony A3000 has got manual focus in case it is required during low light conditions or you want to have more accurate focus control.

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Sony A3000 Battery life

The battery pack (NP-FW50) on the Sony A3000 is built to last for 470 photos based on the CIPA benchmarks making it higher than the usual ın comparison with its class. The usual Entry-Level Mirrorless camera battery life is 343. Fujifilm X-S20 offers the maximum (750) battery life within this range of cameras.

Underneath is a listing of Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras that come with the highest battery life:

Sony A3000 for varying categories of photography

The following graph presents a outline of the Sony A3000 for varying categories of photography. To look at more, go to the specific paragraph underneath.

Sony A3000 Portrait photography advice

The Sony A3000 gets a points total of 77 which is wonderful, meaning that it is a great pick to use for portrait photography. Shooting portrait images favors heavily to sensor resolution, support for RAW files & option to work with off-camera flash.

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you can focus manually
megapixel count decent (20MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detection focusing
saves RAW files

Sony A3000 as a Street photography camera

Having a average points tally of 56, the Sony A3000 is fairly suited to use in street photography. A good street photography camera offers a good balance of picture quality plus portability.

Photography Glossary
decent sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
fixed screen
does not have image stabilization
more heavy than competition in class (411g)

Sony A3000 Sports photography details

A modest sports photography score of 59 suggests the Sony A3000 is relatively suitable for shooting sports. A camera needs great focusing and fast shutter speeds for sports photography.

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MP count decent (20 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
provides tracking focus
better than average battery life (470 CIPA)
continuous shooting slow (3.0 frames per second)
does not have image stabilization
doesn't have phase detect auto focus

Sony A3000 Travel photography details

Weight is super important when buying a travel camera. Over-all, the Sony A3000 gets a decent 60 as a travelling camera which is somewhat suitable to purchase for your holidays.

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better than average battery power (470 shots)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
has built in flash
no Timelapse mode
more heavy than competition (411 grams)
display is not selfie friendly

Sony A3000 Landscape photography features

For anybody who is looking to buy a camera for landscape photography, the most significant aspect is going to be image quality. The Sony A3000 at it's nice score of 70 for a landscape camera is a respectable fit within the current market.

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manual focus
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
good sized screen (3 inches)
good MP (20MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
supports RAW files
better than average battery pack (470 shots)
no image stabilization
lack of Timelapse function

Sony A3000 Vlogging advice

A camera for vlogging preferably should offer a moving display, mic input and preferably image stabilization. Taking everything in to account, the Sony A3000 is simply not acceptable for vlogging as it gets a really bad rating of 26.

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provides face detect focus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
screen is not selfie friendly
does not have image stabilization
lack of mic socket
heavier than competition (411 grams)

Sony A3000 Alternatives

If you are interested in alternatives to the A3000, below is a collection of the top ranked cameras that fall in to the family of Entry-Level Mirrorless.

The chart here will give you a bird's eye view of the A3000 vs it's highest scoring rivals listed previously.

These are some more cameras you may consider as alternatives. To review a complete comparison, just click on the "compare" link.

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Specifications

General Information
Make
Sony
Model
Sony Alpha A3000
Class
Entry-Level Mirrorless
Revealed
2013-08-27
Physical type
SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Sensor type
CMOS
Powered by
BIONZ image
Sensor size
APS-C
Sensor measurements
23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area
366.6mm²
Sensor resolution
20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio
3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution
5456 x 3632
RAW pictures
Highest native ISO
16000
Lowest native ISO
100
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points
25
Lens
Lens mounting type
Sony E
Number of lenses
121
Crop factor
1.5
Screen
Display type
Fixed Type
Display size
3 inches
Resolution of display
230 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech
TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder
Electronic
Viewfinder coverage
100%
Viewfinder magnification
0.47x
DXO scores
DXO Overall score
78
DXO Color Depth score
23.7
DXO Dynamic range score
12.8
DXO Low light score
1068
Features
Min shutter speed
30s
Max shutter speed
1/4000s
Continuous shutter rate
3.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation
Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range
6.00 m (at ISO200 / 4m at ISO100)
Flash options
Flash off, Auto flash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync.
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize
1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions
1920 x 1080
Highest video resolution
1920x1080
Video data format
AVCHD, H.264, MP4
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless
None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS
None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight
411g (0.91 pounds)
Physical dimensions
128 x 91 x 85mm (5.0" x 3.6" x 3.3")
Other
Battery life
470 images
Battery type
Battery Pack
Battery model
NP-FW50
Self timer
Yes (2-sec. or 10-sec. delay)
Time lapse recording
Card slots
One
Retail pricing
$398