Sony Alpha 9 III vs Sony Alpha NEX-3

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Alpha 9 III compared with Alpha NEX-3

	SonyAlpha 9 III	SonyAlpha NEX-3
Overview
Released
Released	January 2024	June 2010
Image and sensor
Camera type
Camera type	Mirrorless	Mirrorless
Sensor format
Sensor format	Full frame	APS-C
Sensor type
Sensor type	Stacked Exmor RS CMOS with global shutter	Exmor APS HD CMOS
Sensor dimensions
Sensor dimensions	35.6 × 23.8 mm	23.4 × 15.6 mm
Effective resolution
Effective resolution	24.6 MP	14.2 MP
Largest image
Largest image	6000 × 4000	4592 × 3056
RAW recording
RAW recording	Yes	Yes
Standard ISO range
Standard ISO range	250–25600	200–12800
Sensor detail
Sensor detail	Approximately 25.2 million total pixels; integral memory and global exposure rather than sequential line exposure.	Charge-protection coating and electromagnetic vibration of the optical low-pass filter for dust reduction
Image formats
Image formats	JPEG, HEIF and Sony ARW 5.0 RAW.	JPEG, RAW and RAW+JPEG; Sony's Japanese launch table specifies ARW 2.2
ISO detail
ISO detail	Standard ISO 250–25600 for stills and movies; stills expand to ISO 125–51200.	Standard ISO 200–12800; Auto ISO 200–1600
Image processor
Image processor	BIONZ XR with dedicated AI processing unit.	BIONZ
Lens and shooting
Lens mount
Lens mount	Sony E-mount	Sony E-mount
Stabilisation
Stabilisation	Sensor shift	Optical lens stabilisation
Maximum continuous burst
Maximum continuous burst	120 fps	7 fps
Lens detail
Lens detail	–	Launch kits contain E 16mm F2.8 and/or E 18–55mm F3.5–5.6 OSS. The original LA-EA1 adapter supports A-mount lenses with manual focusing at launch; later firmware is separate.
Autofocus
Autofocus	Up to 759 still-image or 627 movie phase-detection points; sensitivity EV −5 to 20 with an F2 lens at ISO 100 equivalent. Current UK specification includes automatic subject selection and people, animals, birds, insects, cars, trains and aircraft; launch reviews precede later firmware enhancements.	Contrast detection; 25-point multipoint, centre or flexible-spot areas; single or continuous autofocus, direct manual focus and manual focus
Shutter
Shutter	–	Electronically controlled vertical-traverse focal-plane shutter; 30 seconds to 1/4000 second plus Bulb; flash sync 1/160 second
Burst detail
Burst detail	Up to 120 fps full-resolution electronic bursts with AF/AE tracking under Sony test conditions; speed depends on lens compatibility and shooting settings. Pre-Capture retains up to one second before full shutter press. No mechanical shutter.	Approximately 7 fps in Speed Priority Continuous, with focus and exposure fixed at the first frame; approximately 2.3 fps normal continuous advance
Stabilisation detail
Stabilisation detail	Five-axis sensor shift; 8.0-stop CIPA pitch/yaw claim with FE 50mm F1.2 GM and long-exposure noise reduction off. Active and Dynamic Active movie modes supported.	No sensor-shift stabilisation (PhotographyBlog); optical correction requires a compatible OSS lens. The 18–55mm kit lens has OSS, while the 16mm does not.
Flash
Flash	–	Supplied detachable flash; guide number 7 at ISO 100 in metres; approximately four-second recycle time
Exposure controls
Exposure controls	–	Intelligent Auto, program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual; Sweep Panorama, DRO, three-exposure Auto HDR and six-exposure Hand-held Twilight or Anti Motion Blur
Video
Highest video resolution
Highest video resolution	3840 × 2160 at 120 fps	1280 × 720 at 30 fps
Video detail
Video detail	Up to uncropped 3840 × 2160 120p NTSC or 100p PAL; 4K 60p uses 6K oversampling. Supports 10-bit 4:2:2, S-Log3 and S-Cinetone; All-Intra 4K tops out at 60p. External HDMI RAW output is separate from internal recording.	MP4 with MPEG-4 Visual compression; 1280 × 720 at 30p in Fine or Standard quality, or 640 × 480 at 30p. These are the NEX-3 figures in Sony's Japanese announcement; AVCHD Full HD belongs to the NEX-5.
Audio
Audio	–	Built-in stereo microphone; MPEG-4 AAC-LC audio; optional ECM-SST1 accessory microphone
Screen and viewfinder
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Electronic	None
Screen size
Screen size	3.2″	3″
Screen dots
Screen dots	2,095,104	921,600
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	Yes	No
Tilting screen
Tilting screen	Yes	Yes
Display detail
Display detail	Four-axis LCD tilts and opens sideways; approximately 98° up, 40° down, 180° sideways and 270° rotation.	TruBlack wide TFT; tilts approximately 80° up and 45° down; no touchscreen (PhotographyBlog)
Viewfinder detail
Viewfinder detail	0.64-inch Quad-XGA OLED with 9437184 dots and approximately 0.90× magnification with a 50 mm lens at infinity; selectable up to 240 fps NTSC or 200 fps PAL.	No built-in viewfinder (PhotographyBlog); optional FDA-SV1 optical finder is designed for the E 16mm lens
Connections and design
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Yes	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Yes	–
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	530 photographs	330 photographs
Body weight
Body weight	617 g	239 g (better)
Release detail
Release detail	Sony UK announced availability in January 2024; Japan's announcement specifies 26 January. The main date retains UK month precision.	Sony Japan specifies 10 June 2010 for NEX-3A, NEX-3K and NEX-3D kits. This is the original NEX-3, not the NEX-C3, F3 or 3N.
Recording media
Recording media	Both slots accept CFexpress Type A or UHS-I/UHS-II SD.	Memory Stick PRO Duo and PRO-HG Duo; SD, SDHC and SDXC
Ports
Ports	USB Type-C at 10 Gbps, Multi/Micro USB, full-size HDMI, 1000BASE-T Ethernet, sync terminal, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets and digital-audio Multi Interface Shoe.	–
Wireless connections
Wireless connections	Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac at 2.4/5 GHz and Bluetooth 5.0.	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	NP-FZ100; Sony UK CIPA approximately 530 photographs with LCD or 400 with viewfinder. Japan lists 520/410 respectively. USB Type-C Power Delivery charging and power supported.	NP-FW50; approximately 330 photographs under CIPA conditions
Charging
Charging	–	Supplied BC-VW1 external charger
Dimensions
Dimensions	Approximately 136.1 × 96.9 × 82.9 mm (width × height × maximum depth); grip-to-monitor depth 72.8 mm.	Approximately 117.2 × 62.6 × 33.4 mm (width × height × depth), excluding protrusions; Sony's separate 25.4 mm thinnest-section figure excludes the grip and mount
Weight detail
Weight detail	Sony UK specifies approximately 617 g body only or 702 g with battery and memory card; Japan specifies 618/703 g respectively. Main figures use the UK specification.	Approximately 239 g camera only; 297 g including battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo; lens excluded
Colours
Colours	–	Black, red or white; silver was a Sony Style exclusive in Japan
In the box
In the box	NP-FZ100 battery, BC-QZ1 charger, power cord, cable protector, shoulder strap, body cap, accessory shoe cap and eyepiece cup, according to Sony UK.	NP-FW50 battery, BC-VW1 charger, USB cable, detachable flash and case, shoulder strap, lens cap and software CD; lenses depend on kit