Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm vs. Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm

Camera Comparison, Reviews and Tests

Detailed comparison and review of Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm and Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm. With our comprehensive overview, you can simply compare design, sensors, proximity characteristics, memory capacities, but also other key features of both cameras and easily decide which one is the right choice for you. Our goal is to help you identify the main differences between products and find the camera that best fits your needs and expectations.

Camera Specifications Comparison

Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm vs. Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Product Type Digital camera - mirrorless system Digital camera - 1080p - SLR with Live View mode, movie recording
Lens Included 16-50mm and 55-210mm lenses AF-S VR DX 18-55mm lens
Height 6.2 cm 9.6 cm
Width 10.99 cm 12.4 cm
Depth 3.46 cm 7.5 cm
Weight 210 g 455 g
Enclosure Colour Black Black | Red
Digital Zoom 4x -
Optical Zoom 3x 3x
SENSOR Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Sensor Resolution 16.1 Megapixel 14.2 Megapixel
Optical Sensor Type Exmor APS HD CMOS CMOS
Total Pixels 16,500,000 pixels 14,800,000 pixels
Effective Sensor Resolution 16,100,000 pixels 14,200,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) APS-C (23.1 x 15.4 mm)
Sensor Dust Reduction Yes Yes
Sensor Features Dust Reduction (image sensor vibration), Anti-Dust coating Air flow control system, Self Cleaning Sensor Unit
Image Stabiliser Optical (Steady Shot) Optical
PROCESSOR Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Image Processor BIONZ EXPEED 2
LENS Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Type Zoom lens - 3x zoom - 16 - 50 mm - f/3.5-5.6 PZ OSS Zoom lens - 3x zoom - 18 - 55 mm - f/3.5-5.6 G Nikon AF-S DX VR
Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 24 - 75mm 27 - 82.5mm
Focus Adjustment Automatic, manual Automatic, manual
Min Focus Distance 25 cm 28 cm
Max View Angle 83 degree(s) 76 degree(s)
Zoom Adjustment Manual (by ring), motorised drive Manual
Lens Construction 8 groups / 9 elements 8 groups / 11 elements
Filter Size 40.5 mm 52 mm
Lens Mounting Type Sony E-mount Nikon F
Features ED glass, aspherical lens, Lens Barrel Retraction Function Silent Wave Motor (SWM), aspherical lens, VR (Vibration Reduction)
SECOND LENS
Type Telephoto lens - 3.8x zoom - 55 - 210 mm - f/4.5-6.3 -
Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 82.5 - 315mm -
Focus Adjustment Automatic, manual -
Min Focus Distance 1 m -
Lens Construction 9 groups / 13 elements -
Filter Size 49 mm -
Features ED glass -
FOCUSING Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Auto Focus TTL contrast detection TTL contrast and phase detection
Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 25 11
Auto Focus Features Manual Focus Check Live View, Predictive Focus Control -
AE/AF Control Face-priority AF, Subject-tracking AF -
Face Detection Face-priority AF function, Smile Shutter Face-priority AF function
VIEWFINDER Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Viewfinder Type - Optical - eye-level penta-dach mirror
Optical Viewfinder Field Coverage - 95%
Optical Viewfinder Magnification - 0.8x
Optical Viewfinder Dioptric Correction Range - -1.7 to +0.5
Field of View Crop Factor 1.5 1.5
EXPOSURE & WHITE BALANCE Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
ISO (Max) 16000 12800
Native ISO 200-16000 -
Light Sensitivity ISO auto, ISO 200-16000 ISO 6400, ISO auto, ISO 100-3200, ISO 12800
Exposure Metering Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot Centre-weighted, spot, 3D colour matrix II
Exposure Metering Zones 1200 420
Exposure Modes Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority Programme, bulb, automatic, manual, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, i-TTL program flash
Shooting Programs Landscape, portrait mode, macro, night portrait, sports mode, sunset, handheld twilight, Night View, anti-motion blur Landscape, portrait mode, close-up, night portrait, Children, sports mode
Special Effects Black & White, Vivid, sunset, soft focus, landscape, portrait, miniature, Retro, partial colour, Toy camera, Posterisation, High contrast monochrome, Pop Colour, HDR Painting, Rich-tone monochrome, Soft High-key Neutral, Vivid, monochrome, landscape, portrait
White Balance Custom, automatic, presets Custom, automatic, presets
White Balance Presets Incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, Flash, daylight, shade, 2500K - 9900K Incandescent, fluorescent, cloudy, sunlight, Flash, shade
Shutter Type Mechanical electronically-controlled -
Max Shutter Speed 1/4000 sec 1/4000 sec
Min Shutter Speed 30 sec 30 sec
Exposure Compensation ±3 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps ±5 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
Auto Exposure Bracketing 3 steps -
X-sync Speed 1/160 sec 1/200sec
Exposure Range EV 0-20 (ISO 100) EV 0-20 (ISO 100)
DISPLAY Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Type 3" LCD display 3" LCD display
Display Format 460,800 pixels 230,000 pixels
Display Form Factor Folding Built-in
Display Features Contrast control, display brightness control Display brightness control
FLASH Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Camera Flash Pop-up flash Pop-up flash
Guide Number (m / ISO 100) 4 12
Flash Modes Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode Fill-in mode, rear curtain sync, slow synchro, auto mode, flash OFF mode, red-eye reduction
Red-Eye Reduction - Yes
Features AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, flash exposure bracketing AF illuminator, flash +/- compensation, wireless off-camera control
VIDEOGRAPHY / CAMCORDER Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Digital Video Format AVCHD, H.264 MOV
Image Recording Format JPEG, RAW, RAW + JPEG JPEG, RAW + JPEG, NEF (RAW)
Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080
Surround Sound Dolby Digital AC-3 (2 channel) recording -
Microphone Operation Mode Stereo Mono
MEMORY Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Memory Card Slot Memory Stick PRO Duo card, SD card SD card
Supported Memory Cards SD Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO Duo, SDXC Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX, SDHC Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo SD Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card
Included Memory Card - 8 GB SDHC
Image Storage JPEG 4912 x 2760
JPEG 3568 x 2000
JPEG 2448 x 1376
4608 x 3072
3456 x 2304
2304 x 1536
Video Capture AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 - 50 fps - 24Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 - 50 fps - 17Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 - 25 fps - 24Mbps
AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 - 25 fps - 17Mbps
H.264 - 1440 x 1080 - 25 fps - 12Mbps
H.264 - 640 x 480 - 25 fps - 3Mbps
MOV - 1920 x 1080 - 24 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 - 30 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 - 25 fps
MOV - 1280 x 720 - 24 fps
MOV - 640 x 424 - 24 fps
BATTERY AND CHARGING Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Battery Type Sony NP-FW50 Lithium Ion - manufacturer-specific Nikon EN-EL14 Lithium Ion
Details 1 x Sony NP-FW50 Li-ion rechargeable battery - 1020 mAh (included) Nikon EN-EL14 Li-ion rechargeable battery (included)
Battery Life Photo shooting - 480 shots Photo shooting - 550 shots
CONNECTIONS Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Interface HDMI, USB 2.0 Composite video/audio, HDMI, USB 2.0
Print Standard DPOF support, Exif Print support, PRINT Image Matching Direct print, DPOF support, Exif Print support, PictBridge support
Flash Terminal - Hot shoe
Connector Type USB 2.0
HDMI output
USB 2.0
HDMI output
Composite video/audio output
FEATURES Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Self-Timer Delay 10 sec, 2sec 10 sec, 2sec
Continuous Shooting Speed 4 frames per second, 2.5 frames per second 3 frames per second
Additional Features Built-in speaker, RGB primary colour filter, sharpness control, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, saturation control, Sweep Panorama technology, shadow point display, highlight point display, Dynamic Range Optimizer, face detection, USB charging, built-in help guide, 25p Cinema Mode, automatic display brightness adjustment, Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO), Superior Auto mode, noise reduction over long exposures, high ISO speed noise reduction, BRAVIA Sync function, Auto Object Framing Date/time stamp, digital image rotation, camera orientation detection, histogram display, AE lock, AF lock, in-camera red-eye removal, cropping an image, GPS ready, LCD live view mode, highlight point display, Active D-Lighting technology, face detection, built-in help guide, Scene Recognition System (SRS), in-camera RAW processing, text input to Exif header
OTHERS Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Included Accessories Dust cap, body cap, lens cap, shoulder strap, AC power adaptor, micro-USB cable Eyepiece cover, battery charger, dust cap, body cap, lens cap, neck strap, carrying case, tripod, eyecup, shoe cap
Software Sony PlayMemories Home, Sony Image Data Converter 4.0 Nikon ViewNX 2
Max Operating Temperature 40 °C 40 °C
Min Operating Temperature 0 °C 0 °C
Other Comparisons with Sony Alpha NEX 3NY + 16-50mm and 55-210mm
Other Comparisons with Nikon D3100 + AF-S VR DX 18-55mm
Other Popular Camera Comparisons
Other projects: