Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5: A Third Way for Hybrid Cameras?

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Hybrid cameras are all the rage, with more and more manufacturers seeking to offer the flexibility of interchangeable lenses on smaller camera bodies.  Sony is just the latest to join the craze with its NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras.

Panasonic and Olympus started things off with their Micro Four-Thirds system, released a year ago, and now featuring a range of popular cameras like the Panasonic GF1 and GH1 and the Olympus PEN family, of which the entry-level Pen E-PL1 is the latest member.  More recently, Samsung launched a rival system on its NX10.

Competition is heating up even further with the launch of the new Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras, which we are currently trying out.

Impressive Features

The two cameras are technically pretty similar, and feature Sony's new 14.6 Megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor.  Not only is this almost the same size as the sensor found in Sony SLRs like the Alpha 550, it's also particularly well-suited to recording video: the NEX-3 will film in 720p HD using MPEG-4, while the NEX-5 will produce 1080i AVCHD video—just like a top-end camcorder.

Hand-on

We're not just going to be running you through the specs, though: we've actually got one of each camera here in the lab so we'll be bringing you a detailed hands-on look on Friday.



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