Sony NEX-F3 vs Rebel

[Madmic23]

Hi everyone, looking for a bit of camera advice here.

I just won the opportunity to buy a Sony NEX-F3 for $285 (regular price $599).

I'm on the fence about actually purchasing it. I have a Canon Rebel XSI right now, and I was considering trading it in for the Rebel T4i. However, these small, mirrorless interchangeable lense cameras have caught my eye lately. I like the small size for travelling, and it seems like it would be a bit easier for my wife to use than a dslr.

I appreciate the finer control of a dslr and the larger sensor, but this Sony has the same size sensor and still has pretty decent manual,controls, albeit accesed by a dial cycling through menus on the screen (no touch screen on this model).

Does anyone here have any experience shooting with the NEX-F3?

I could sell my rebel and my two extra lenses and probably make a profit, or I could just buy the NEX for the reduced price and sell it for a profit on its own.

What would you do?

 

[The Mad Kiwi]

I'd keep the DSLR because I hate mirror less, I'm a viewfinder type of guy. You just can't hold a camera out in front of you to look at the screen and keep it really still like you can with a DSLR pressed up against your head. I do a bit of low light work so slow shutter speed is sometimes needed.

 

[iancheyne]

Horses for courses

The Sony takes just as good shots as the Canon. I have a a 50D, and XTi, a Nex5 and Nex3. The available lenses for the Canon's are much better and the Nex cameras are poor if you want to take action shots, tracing football etc but for landscape and portrait work the Sonya's are just as good and in some ways better. The in camera HDR in the Sony's is limited but in the right conditions works very well. The Sony video capability is also excellent ... And of course they are much easier to carry around.

In the end for me it comes down to what I am shooting and how far I am traveling.

 

[mikepro]

Buy it and try it. If you don't like it, seems like you could sell it for no loss, and maybe even for profit

 

[Madmic23]

Well, I went ahead and bought the Sony with the intention of selling it for a profit. I couldn’t just let it go without at least testing it though.

When I started it up for the first time, I tried taking some low light shots in my living room. I noticed the live view looked a bit grainy and thought this thing is definitely going up for sale. Then I took some pictures. They actually turned out pretty good, without the grain. I’m guessing that’s just a live view thing.

I tried a few more pictures, leaving the camera on its “Superior Auto” setting. I was actually pretty impressed. Not only does the camera recognize faces, it recognizes babies. When I pointed it at my 11 month old a little “Baby mode” icon popped up. I have no idea what baby mode is yet, but the pictures turned out really nice.

It also recognized when I took a portrait photo and automatically cropped the photo to give a pleasing portrait. Yes, this feature would tick off a lot of people, but I’m pretty sure you can turn it off, or just take portraits in a different mode. It actually did make the picture look better.

Next, I tried the video mode. The video looks great, however, I haven’t closely examined it on my iMac or TV yet.

I’m beginning to think that I will be keeping this camera instead of selling it. It’s actually very nice.

It takes a little bit to get use to using the live view instead of the viewfinder that I’m use to on my DSLR, and the weight and balance of the camera seemed off at first, but I’m getting used to it.

When I get some time I’ll post some comparison shots between the NEX F3 and my Rebel XSi.

 

[Mito]

Go for Canon - because it´s not Sony