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| Category: | Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera |
| Product: | Sony NEX-F3 |
| Price: | £449.00 |
| Rating: |   
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Sony NEX-F3 Mirrorless Camera Review - Daniel Bell reviews the entry level Sony NEX-F3 mirrorless compact system camera which has a 16.1 megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor.
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Jargon Buster: OffHandling
Performance
Verdict
Specification
The Sony NEX-F3 is a pocket-sized, entry-level compact system camera, announced in May 2012. It is being tested here with the standard Sony E 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens, which is a 35mm equivalent of 27-82.5mm. It is available in black or silver for £449.00 with the above lens.
Sony NEX-F3 Features
The NEX-F3 has a 16.1 megapixel sensor, which is designed to capture more light for low noise images and full HD video recording (videos also have stereo sound). It uses E-mount interchangeable lens, but you can purchase a separate converter to attach A-mount DSLR lenses. You can double the magnification of your lens by using Clear Image Zoom.Superior Auto mode makes picture taking easy, automatically adjusting the cameras settings for the scene. There is also the full range of manual modes which you would find on a DSLR. When shooting portraits skin tones are adjusted to create flattering results, with the camera then cropping them automatically using Face Detection, great if you are shooting in a crowd.
Background Defocus Control allows you to adjust depth of focus which is previewed on the screen. Other shooting modes include sweep panorama, artistic picture effects, high-speed shooting upto 5.5fps, auto HDR, handheld twilight and soft skin.
Key Features
- 16.1 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor
- E-mount interchangeable lens system
- In-lens optical image stabilisation (with compatible lenses)
- 3 inch tilt-angle TruBlack 921k dot LCD screen
- Full HD movie (1920 x 1080i) with stereo sound
- ISO 200-16000
- 5.5 fps high speed burst shooting
- Sweep Panorama
- Auto HDR
- Superior Auto mode
- 2x Clear Image Zoom
- Auto Portrait Framing
- Full manual controls
- Artistic Picture Effects
- Intelligent Auto and Superior Auto
- Background Defocus Control
- Handheld Twilight mode
- 8x Precision Digital Zoom
- High-speed 25 multi-point AF
- Soft Skin mode, Face Detection and Smile Shutter
- D-Range Optimiser
- Built-in pop-up flash
Sony NEX-F3 Handling
The NEX-F3 has a similar sized body to an advanced compact camera, with a lot of the weight and bulk coming from the lens. If you'd like to reduce the overall size so that you can keep it in your pocket, you can purchase the E 16mm f/2.8 pancake lens, available for just under £200. There is a substantial grip, with a rubber coating, which makes it easy to hold the camera, there is also a rubberised area on the rear for your thumb.There isn't a huge number of buttons, with the on/off switch on the top, with the playback and movie record buttons placed on an edge which is at a 45° angle. The shutter release sits on an edge which is actually more visible from the front of the camera. On the rear is a rotating wheel with a button on the middle. There are two other buttons, what these do is indicated on the screen.
The menu systems is a little unusual, press the menu button and you get a choice of 6 options: shooting mode, camera options, image size, brightness / colour options, playback and set-up. The brightness / colour options are where you can also find exposure compensation, ISO, white balance, metering, flash compensation, DRO / HDR, and creative style (colour options such as vivid, standard, black and white etc.), which is not where I expected the options to be. Image size is where you set the image size for still, 3D, and panoramic shots, as well as video size. Camera options are where you can set the drive mode, flash setting, AF/MF, Face detection etc. Set-up is where you can customise the buttons you use, as well as set further shooting options, main settings, and memory card tools. Finding your way around these menus does get easier over time.
The 3 inch tilt-angle TruBlack 921k dot LCD screen can rotate 180°, making it easy to shoot self portraits, or if you have it at 90°, it makes shooting objects low down much easier. It is a pleasure to use, with pictures looking great during shooting and when viewing back.
Rated at 410 shots, we were able to take just over 650 photos before the battery was exhausted. The camera uses an info-lithium ion rechargeable battery, this means it can tell you how much charge the battery has left, in %. We tested the camera's performance at focusing, shutter response, shot-to-shot time, continuous shooting etc. and have posted the results below. To test this we took 6 or more shots and calculated the average.
| Shutter Response | 0.05 secs | |
| Wide - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.4 secs | |
| Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.3 secs | |
| Switch on Time to Taking a Photo | 1.5 secs | |
| Shot to Shot (without flash) | 0.8 secs | |
| Shot to Shot with Flash | 1.1 secs | |
| Continuous Shooting | 2.6 fps | |
| Continuous Shooting with flash | 1.2 fps | |
| Speed priority continuous | 5.5 fps | |
| Speed priority continuous with flash | 1.0 fps |
Focusing is very quick, we found it a little quicker when using the lens zoomed out as much as possible. Continuous shooting and speed priority continuous record at full 16 megapixel resolution, and at 5.5fps is pretty impressive.
Sony NEX-F3 Performance
Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.Sony NEX-F3 Sample Photos
 Portrait | 1/500 sec | f/4.5 | 18.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Landscape | 1/200 sec | f/13.0 | 18.0 mm | ISO 200 |
 Sport | 1/2000 sec | f/5.6 | 55.0 mm | ISO 800 |  Dog portrait | 1/250 sec | f/5.6 | 39.0 mm | ISO 200 |
Sample Photos - Colour reproduction is superb and images are consistently well exposed. Focusing is fast and generally accurate, although when shooting portraits in low light it did occasionall focus on the wrong person, such as someone in the background. Portrait shots have decent skin tones, even when shooting with the flash (example below) and are free from red-eye.
Sony NEX-F3 Lens test images
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Lens Performance - Images have an ample amount of detail throughout the zoom range when shooting with the kit 18-55mm lens, with a good control on purple fringing. It is also possible to get close enough to take a decent macro shot.
Sony NEX-F3 ISO test images
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ISO Noise Performance - There is no noise at ISO 200, with barely noticeable increases through ISO 400, 800 and 1600. At ISO 3200 there is a slight loss of detail, and a little more is lost at ISO 6400, although images remain sharp. More detail is lost at ISO 12800, with images becoming soft in places, the highest setting of ISO 16000 even more detail is lost, with images softer still.
Sony NEX-F3 White-balance test images
 AWB preset - incandescent lighting | 1/50 sec | f/4.0 | 22.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Incandescent preset - incandescent lighting | 1/50 sec | f/4.0 | 22.0 mm | ISO 200 |  AWB preset - fluorescent lighting | 1/10 sec | f/4.0 | 22.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Fluorescent preset -1 - fluorescent lighting | 1/10 sec | f/4.0 | 22.0 mm | ISO 200 |
 Fluorescent preset 0 - fluorescent lighting | 1/10 sec | f/4.0 | 22.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Fluorescent preset +1 - fluorescent lighting | 1/10 sec | f/4.0 | 22.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Fluorescent preset +2 - fluorescent lighting | 1/10 sec | f/4.0 | 22.0 mm | ISO 200 |
White Balance Performance - Under the incandescent lights there is an orange cast when using the AWB preset, with the incandescent preset taking the better image. Under the fluorescent lights it is the AWB preset which excels. There are four different presets for fluorescent lighting, the -1 setting performs fairly well, with the other three all taking images with a colour cast.
Panorama 4 | 1/320 sec | f/13.0 | 18.0 mm | ISO 200
Panorama mode - Panoramas are taken using the sweep method and they look excellent, even when viewed full size you can see an excellent amount of detail and no signs of any stitching issues.
Sony NEX-F3 Scene modes
 Portrait With Flash | 1/160 sec | f/4.5 | 40.0 mm | ISO 800 |  HDR | 1/640 sec | f/8.0 | 18.0 mm | ISO 200 |
 Macro Mode | 1/250 sec | f/6.3 | 55.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Self Portrait | 1/160 sec | f/4.0 | 18.0 mm | ISO 1000 |
The pictures above have been taken using some of the scene modes available on the NEX-F3.
Sony NEX-F3 Digital filters
 Standard | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Creative Standard Vivid | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Creative Style Black And White | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Miniature | 1/400 sec | f/8.0 | 24.0 mm | ISO 200 |
 Picture Effect HDR Painting High | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect HDR Painting Mid | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect High Contrast Monochrome | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Partial Blue | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |
 Picture Effect Partial Colour Red | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Partial Green | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Partial Yellow | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Pop Colour | 1/15 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |
 Picture Effect Posterization Colour | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Retro | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Rich Tone Mono | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Soft Focus Mid | 1/20 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |
 Picture Effect Soft High Key | 1/4 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Toy Camera | 1/40 sec | f/5.0 | 47.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Landscape | 1/800 sec | f/8.0 | 18.0 mm | ISO 200 |  Picture Effect Portrait | 1/60 sec | f/4.5 | 40.0 mm | ISO 200 |
Digital Filters - The NEX-F3 has a number of creative styles and picture effects available to enhance your pictures, with a range of examples above.
Lenses Available: The Sony E Mount has a range of lenses covering 16mm to 210mm, the equivalent of 24mm wide angle to 315mm telephoto and a choice of seven lenses currently available, with one pancake and three prime lenses, a 30mm macro, 24mm f/1.8 Zeiss lens and a 50mm f/1.8 portrait lens. Sony has announced plans to release 8 more lenses over the next two years, bringing the total to 15 lenses. There are also lenses available from Tamron, Sigma and Samyang.
Video - Video quality is excellent, below is a video recorded in full HD with stereo sound. Head over to the ePHOTOzine Youtube page and you can watch a video which shows the use of zoom during recording.
Value For Money
The Sony NEX-F3 is available for £499.00 with the E 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens. Below are a number of other entry level compact system cameras from varying manufacturers.
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| Nikon J1 | Olympus PEN E-PL3 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 | Samsung NX200 | Pentax K-01 |
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| £295.00 | £349.00 | £429.00 | £441.00 | £499.00 |
You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Sony NEX-F3 Verdict
The Sony NEX-F3 is a fantastic choice for those looking at their first interchangeable lens camera. It is very simple to use once you have familiarised yourself with the menu systems and takes excellent pictures, with fantastic detail and colour reproduction. If you're not sure yet how to get the best from using manual controls, you can still take excellent pictures using the Superior Auto mode, which selects the best camera settings for you automatically.If your budget is slightly limited, you may have to consider the Nikon J1, but the NEX-F3 has a larger sensor, meaning better image quality and less noise, there is also a wider range of lenses available. We also like the fast 5.5 fps continuous shooting, excellent battery life and rubber grip. All this means the Sony NEX-F3 comes highly recommended.
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Buy Online Now |
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| The Sony NEX-F3 takes great images and is easy for the beginner to use. |
Sony NEX-F3 Pros
Superior Auto mode works really well5.5 fps continuous shootingTiltable screenSubstantial rubber gripVery good battery lifeImage quality is excellent with great colour reproductionGood noise performance throughout ISO rangeSony NEX-F3 Cons
Occasionally focused on wrong place in low lightLenses are quite largeNon standard flash mountMenu system is unusual and takes some getting used to| FEATURES |
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Sony NEX-F3 Specifications
| Manufacturer | Sony | |
| Image Sensor | ||
| CCD pixels | 16.1Mp (Megapixels) | |
| Pixels (W) | 4912 | |
| Pixels (H) | 3264 | |
| Sensor Type | CMOS | |
| Sensor Size | APS-C | |
| Sensor Size (width) | 23.5mm | |
| Sensor Size (height) | 15.6mm | |
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| LCD Monitor | ||
| LCD Monitor | 3in | |
| Screen resolution | 921,600 | |
| Touch Screen | No | |
| Focusing | ||
| Focusing modes |
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| Exposure Control | ||
| Shutter speeds shortest | 1/4000sec | |
| Shutter speeds longest | 30sec | |
| Exp modes |
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| Metering |
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| ISO sensitivity | 100 - 25600 | |
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| Exposure Comp | +/-3 | |
| Viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder Resolution | No Data | |
| Shooting Options | ||
| Continuous shooting | 5.5fps | |
| Video | ||
| Movie mode | Yes | |
| Video Resolution |
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| Video FPS | 25p, 50p | |
| Stereo Sound | Yes | |
| Optical Zoom with Video | Yes | |
| Other Features | ||
| Image Stabilisation | No | |
| Interface | ||
| HDMI | Yes | |
| USB | USB 2 | |
| Storage | ||
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| Power Source | ||
| Battery Type | NP-FW50 | |
| CIPA Rating | 410 | |
| Box Contents | ||
| Box Contents | Camera, Shoulder strap, Battery Charger, Infolithium Battery (NP-FW50), USB Cable, CD-ROM, Flash, Standard Zoom Lens (18-55mm OSS) | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Weight | 255g | |
| Width | 117.3mm | |
| Height | 66.6mm | |
| Depth | 41.3mm | |
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Comments
otherwise a great camera.
Great review, with some lovely quality results !!....especially in the Hi-Res images !
Looking at the 'top-plate' of the camera, the built-in flash looks to be the larger
rectangular 'flap', to the right of the lens centreline ??.....so what's the smaller flap
situated on the lens C/L ??????.......if it's a socket to take an EVF it's gonna be a
cracking piece of kit !!!!
I much prefer to have a viewfinder to compose my shots....so if it takes an EVF of
the same quality as the NEX-7 then for me it's a winner !!!! The EVF on the NEX-7
is a beaut., but it's offset to the rear top-left-corner, which doesn't appeal...I feel
it's ergonomically 'right' when it's on the lens C/L....?????
Though I dare say an accessory EVF is gonna be another £250..??.....so it's getting
rather pricey.......& Sony cameras don't seem to come down in price, as others tend
to do ..???????
The noise control seems to be top-notch too, at least up to ISO 1600.......which makes
the package a very tempting proposition !!!.....where's me piggy-bank ???.
Good news and bad news. Good news, yes, it can take an EVF: http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dac-nex-accessories/fda-ev1s. Bad news, £319 from Sony. The socket can also be used for a microphone. But yeah, I loved using the camera, would certainly buy one myself if I had the money.
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