Sony NEX-C3 review

Changing settings in Auto mode is via a carousel of results-oriented functions under the heading Photo Creativity. Rather than exposure compensation, this function is presented as Brightness. Aperture control becomes Background Defocus, and there’s a range of creative effects such as Retro Photo and Toy Camera. When changing multiple settings, icons stack up in the bottom-left corner of the screen to remind that they’ve been applied – reminiscent of applying effects in video-editing software. Experienced photographers won’t have much time for it but it’s one of the friendliest results-oriented camera control systems we’ve seen.

Here’s the two lens NEX-C3D kit

There is some respite for those who want quick access to conventional controls. They’ll have to configure them themselves, but in P/A/S/M modes, the left and right navigation buttons can be assigned to various settings (RAW mode is the only notable omission), and pressing the centre button calls up a further five custom controls. The lower function button can also be assigned, although it defaults to moving the autofocus point when in flexible spot focus mode. Overall, it works reasonably well for quickly getting at settings, although the GF3’s labelled buttons and touchscreen spot focus are easier to use.

Shot-to-shot performance is vastly improved. The NEX-3 was quick as long as you were happy to live without shots appearing on the screen directly after capture. With this feature enabled, it could only capture a shot every 2.8 seconds – a terrible result for such an expensive camera. The C3 gets this down to 0.9 seconds. The GF3 is even faster at 0.6 seconds, though, mainly because its autofocus system is much nippier. The C3 performs like a responsive compact camera, whereas the GF3 is as fast as an SLR. The C3 wins for continuous performance, though, capturing 20 JPEGs at 6.3fps before slowing to the 2.5fps in our tests. RAW continuous capture was at 6.3fps for seven frames before slowing to 0.5fps.

There’s a bare minimum of buttons on the NEX-C3

A camera’s performance isn’t just about the time between shots, though. Various operational quirks mean that the C3 isn’t as enjoyable to use as it could be. There was often a half-second lag between pressing a button and the camera responding, and on numerous occasions the camera failed to respond at all. Switching between shooting modes was particularly laborious – this camera is crying out for a mode dial.

Elsewhere, the camera seems to be wilfully pedantic. Insert a blank SD card and it points out that the folder structure for saving photos is missing. Creating them only takes a couple of seconds but the camera requires a button press for acknowledgement both before and afterwards. In what circumstance would users not want these folders to be created? They don’t need a running commentary, or a slapped wrist. The camera’s pedantic nature reappears in that users must choose between browsing photos or videos via the menu. We’re at a loss as to why it needs to save them in separate folders on the card, or why it can’t sort them by date to browse together.