Have you grown out of your point-and-shoot, but can't spend a fortune on an interchangeable lens camera? Sony's Alpha 3000 ($399.99 direct with 18-55m lens) is the least expensive mirrorless camera you can buy. Sony made some compromises to deliver the 20-megapixel APS-C model at this price point, but image quality isn't one of them. We're impressed with the quality of its images, and the fact that it includes an eye-level electronic viewfinder at this price. On the other hand, the low-resolution rear LCD and limited burst-shooting capability are a bit of a letdown. If you have a bit more money to spend, consider a more refined mirrorless camera like our Editors' Choice, the Samsung NX300 or Sony's own NEX-6. But if you're on a tight budget and want the the ability to change lenses along with the image quality that a big image sensor delivers, the Alpha 3000 is worth a serious look.
Design and Features
Most entry-level mirrorless cameras are designed to resemble beefed-up compact cameras. The Alpha 3000 takes the opposite approach, looking more like a scaled-down SLR. This is the same aesthetic that Panasonic chose for its G and GH bodies, including the top-end GH3. The A3000 measures 2.3 by 4 by 1.5 inches (HWD) and weighs in at 9.9 ounces with no lens attached. Adding the kit lens increases the depth by about two inches and ups the total weight to just over a pound. Compare this to Sony's smallest interchangeable lens camera, the NEX-3N, which measures 2.3 by 4.4 by 1.4 inches and weighs 9.5 ounces; its collapsible kit lens increases the depth to about 2.8 inches and the weight to 13.6 ounces.
The SLR body style means that the camera has a deep, comfortable handgrip that's absent from many mirrorless cameras. There's some sacrifice in compactness here, but it's a worthy trade-off, especially when you pair the camera with a telezoom like the 55-210mm E-mount lens. A pop-up flash is built into the body, as is an eye-level EVF, and there's a multi-function hot shoe so that you can attach an external flash or another accessory as needed.
The control layout is a little sparse when compared to an SLR, but is on par with other E-mount bodies. Up top you'll find the Finder/LCD button (there's no eye sensor, so you have to toggle between the two manually), a mode dial, the image playback button, and a power switch that surrounds the shutter release. On the rear there's the movie button, two programmable function buttons, and a control wheel that doubles a four-way joystick with a center select button. By default the bottom button is set to bring up an in-camera guide that explains some photographic concepts and provides shooting tips. If you're comfortable behind the lens you'll want to reprogram this to activate a feature you'll use more often, like Sony's Auto Object Framing, which works to improve the composition of images, or the Clear Image Zoom function, which can effectively double the reach of your lens.
The tile-based menu system is familiar to experienced NEX shooters, but if you're moving up from a compact camera it will take getting used to. When you enter the main menu you'll be greeted by five icons: Camera, Image Size, Brightness/Color, Playback, and Setup. There are a ton of features that can be customized, but menu organization is sometimes unintuitive. For example, you'll need to go into Image Size to control the direction in which you move the camera to grab a panoramic photo; but make sure you're in Panorama mode, or that option will be grayed out.
The 3-inch rear LCD boasts a wide 16:9 ratio, just like the displays on other Sony mirrorless cameras like the NEX-5T. But it only packs a 230k-dot resolution, and looks noticeably pixelated. It can't match the 460k-dot display that Olympus packs into its entry-level PEN Mini E-PM2, and it doesn't incorporate the touch control that both the E-PM2 and NEX-5T offer.
The 0.5-inch, 768k-dot EVF is the best one you'll find in a $400 mirrorless camera, but that's because it's the only EVF you'll find in a $400 mirrorless camera. Compared with other offerings it's not very sharp, and gives you a bit of a tunnel vision effect when peering into it. There's a diopter, so you can tune it to match your eyesight, and it will get the job done when it's too bright to use the rear LCD for image framing.
The Alpha 3000 does support peaking as a manual focus aid; that system outlines in-focus parts of an image in red, yellow, or white to make manual focus quicker and more precise. But if you're serious about using the EVF, you'll be better suited with one that is a bit sharper—especially if you plan on using third-party manual focus lenses. The NEX-6 has a built-in OLED EVF, and the Panasonic G6 has an LCD EVF. You buy an add-on EVF for the Sony NEX-5T, and all Olympus PEN models support the VF-4. Since the Alpha 3000 is a budget-priced camera, it's not surprising that its EVF isn't top-quality.
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