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It has been over twenty years since i had an SLR. Or used a camera where i had to think about the image i was shooting and the satisfaction of getting the shot I wanted. Along with the frequent frustrations of developing rolls of film with a few keepers at best. Having kept a few old manual lenses i was intending to use on a new Sony NEX 6 with the powerzoom kit lens due to fast auto focus and great reviews. However impatience got the better of me and i bought the NEX c3 as a temporary stand in until the Nex 6 hit the shops. However having used it for the past few months i will not be ungrading as intended for now. The image quality is superb. I bought the C3 as a body only so along with a couple of e mount adaptors have been using only manual lenses and shooting mainly in aperture priority mode. This has changed my perceptions of what i wanted and the way i compose a shot has to be thought out resulting in a far more involved and enjoyable process. These cameras have evolved so far that we now have the digital editing capabilities with all the joys and challenges of manual shooting. also most old previously redundant lenses can work with the right adaptors. I had read many reviews about the lack of manual controls but i have found the camera very customisable. I have instant access to white balance, ISO and exposure compensation via left,right or bottom presses of the control wheel plus five other settings of my choice via the center button, Also as i shoot manually using some great old prime lenses i have manual focus assist via the function button, which along with focus peaking makes shooting manually great fun and very accurate. All of which means i hardly ever have to go menu diving which by the way i find rather simple and straightforward. This camera performs brilliantly in low light which means i get natural looking shots in situations not previously possible without the glare of a flash. The screen is very adaptable to various shooting styles but can be hard to see in bright sunlight although as this is the bottom of the NEX range i would not expect an EVF, having said this in most scenarios it is easily viewed and i find it fairly accurately depicts what the jpeg will look like. This camera also shoots in raw. I was impressed upon unboxing at the quality of the build which feels very well made and solid. Perhaps not best suited for large hands although with a good aftermaket wrist strap which in my opinion is essential it certainly feels good in the hand and the controls are all at hand and easily manipulated. In summary i am very surprised at the capabilities of such a small camera and will probably not upgrade until a full frame version is released to the market therefore recognising the true focal length of my old prime lenses. This camera goes everywhere with me which i believe says it all.Read full review
Fully functional (second hand buy). And still most likely the smallest APS-C camera you’ll find. And thanks to the focus peaking, this one goes into the laptop bag with some old small manual Helios lenses and adapters, so that it I’ll always have a “somewhat proper” camera nearby on business trips :) (otherwise using a more bulky D7500 for everyday shooting).
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I bought this to have a lighter alternative to my SLR. After researching 4/3 Olympuses, Panasonics and others I opted to buy into the NEX system on the basis of biggest sensor in an affordable compact system camera. High ISO performance is a revelation compared to your typical compact making this a very flexible camera. Screen quality is excellent, and it tilts as a bonus. Check out dpreviews positive review. Downsides are: Ergonomically (esp. going from an SLR), this is a bit fiddly to use and although the ability to customise buttons helps, this can't get round the fact that a physically small body brings its own challenges, e.g. I tend to inadvertently press buttons just while picking the camera up (but then I was after a smaller camera in the first place!). Versions higher up the range, e.g. NEX-5N have a bigger hand grip which would help. Flash mount is not of the standard type, it's one peculiar to the NEX cameras and I gather the available flash is not very powerful. I believe newer/higher end NEX cameras may have reverted to a standard hotshoe.Read full review
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