Sony NEX-3 has a
14.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor. On the other hand, Sony A900 has a
25.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.
Sony A900's sensor provides 11MP more than Sony NEX-3's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the NEX-3 and A900 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Sony A900 has a 2.4x Larger sensor area than Sony NEX-3. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Sony NEX-3 and Sony A900 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A900 has a better overall score of 79, 11 points higher compared to NEX-3's score of 68.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Sony NEX-3 |
68 |
22.1 bits |
12.0 Evs |
830 ISO |
Sony A900 |
79 |
23.7 bits |
12.3 Evs |
1431 ISO |