Sony reveals new sleek and stylish NEX-3N

Sony reveals new sleek and stylish NEX-3N
The 3N thinks small can be powerful

At the heart of the new Sony NEX-3N is a large 16.1 million pixel Exmor APS-C HD CMOS sensor, which is the same device already featured in the top-selling Sony NEX-5R.

Despite its light and small body, the Sony NEX-3N still manages to include a bright 7.5cm (3-inch) LCD screen, which is capable of flipping up to 180 degrees, which is especially useful for shooting self-portraits. The compact system camera also includes a built-in flash.

For the first time in a Sony NEX camera, a zoom lever is found around the shutter release button, for easy composition, especially when shooting with the screen at awkward angles, or when recording video.

Auto Object Framing is included in this camera, which is also found on the new Sony Alpha a58. This is basically a continuation of the innovative Auto Portrait Framing, which made its debut last year, and sees the camera assessing the scene in front of it and cropping captured images automatically for a better composition.

Small package

Sony reveals new sleek and stylish NEX-3N

Weighing in at just 210g (7.4oz), the Sony NEX-3N is the world's smallest and lightest interchangeable lens camera to feature an APS-C sensor. That's quite a mouthful, but basically it boils down to the CSC being sleeker than others from Canon, Samsung and Fuji.

The camera's other features include a sensitivity run between ISO 100 and ISO 16000. Sony says that the Bionz processor has been improved to facilitate the same area-specific noise reduction technology that has already been viewed on the Sony a99 full-frame Alpha camera.

Expected to be available from the middle of March, the Sony NEX-3N price will be around £400 (around US$617/AU$596) with the standard 16-50mm power zoom lens bundle. A twin kit, which will also include the 55-210mm lens, will be available for around £600 (around US$926/AU$894).

Read our hands on: Sony NEX-3N review for more information.

Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar. 

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