Nikon D80 vs Sony NEX-3 Comparison

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Nikon D80

10 MP | APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) CCD Sensor

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Sony NEX-3

14 MP | APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Nikon D80 vs Sony NEX-3 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Nikon D80, which was introduced in September 2006 is a Advanced DSLR camera with a 10.0MP APS-C sensor whereas Sony NEX-3, which was introduced in June 2010 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 14.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, D80 is 4 years older than NEX-3. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious alternatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon D80 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2006-09-23

10MP - APS-C CCD Sensor

ISO 100 - 1600 ( expands to 3200)

Nikon F Mount

2.5" Fixed Type Screen

Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder

3 fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

668g. 132 x 103 x 77 mm

Replaced Nikon D70 Compare

Sony NEX-3 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2010-06-07

14MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

ISO 200 - 12800

Sony E Mount

3" Tilting Screen

7 fps continuous shooting

HD - 1280 x 720 video resolution

297g. 117 x 62 x 33 mm

Nikon D80 was replaced by Nikon D90. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon D90 vs Nikon D80
Nikon D90 vs Sony Alpha NEX-3

Sony NEX-3 was replaced by Sony Alpha NEX-C3. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha NEX-C3 vs Sony Alpha NEX-3
Sony Alpha NEX-C3 vs Nikon D80

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon D80 over Sony Alpha NEX-3

Built-in Flash	Yes vs No	Useful in low-light
Viewfinder	Optical vs None	Better framing and control
Flash Coverage	13.0m vs 12.0m	1m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area	37.14µm² vs 26.02µm²	42% larger pixel area
Top LCD	Yes vs No	Help viewing and changing settings easily
AE Bracketing	Yes vs No	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha NEX-3 over Nikon D80

LCD Screen	Tilting vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs No	very handy for portraits
Max Sensor Resolution	14 MP vs 10 MP	39% more pixels
Max ISO	12.800 vs 1.600	700% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Size	3" vs 2.5"	0.5 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution	920k dots vs 230k dots	300% higher resolution screen
Continuous Shooting	7.0fps vs 3.0fps	4 fps faster
Weight	297 g vs 668 g	371 g lighter
Dynamic Range	12.0 vs 11.2	higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO	830 vs 524	better High ISO performance
Max Video Resolution	1280 x 720 vs None	Higher Resolution Video

Common Strengths of Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha NEX-3

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs Yes	Better for flash photography
RAW Support	Yes vs Yes	Better image quality

Common Weaknesses of Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha NEX-3

In-body Image Stabilization	No vs No	No Built-in stabilization
Environmental Sealing	No vs No	not suitable for tough conditions

Nikon D80 vs Sony NEX-3: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon D80 has external dimensions of 132 x 103 x 77 mm (5.2 x 4.06 x 3.03″) and weighs 668 g (1.47 lb / 23.56 oz) (including batteries). Sony NEX-3 has external dimensions of 117 x 62 x 33 mm (4.61 x 2.44 x 1.3″) and weighs 297 g (0.65 lb / 10.48 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3. Sony NEX-3 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 15mm narrower, 41mm shorter and 44mm thinner than Nikon D80.

Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3.

Top View Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony NEX-3 is significantly lighter (371g ) than the Nikon D80 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since both Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 have the same APS-C sized sensor, their lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will be similar in size and weight.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

D80

NEX-3

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

D80

NEX-3

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Nikon D80 nor Sony Alpha NEX-3 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top DSLR Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony NEX-3's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Nikon D80's 2.5" screen.

In addition to the size advantage, Sony NEX-3 LCD screen also has a Tilting feature where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Nikon D80 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to NEX-3.

Nikon D80 vs Sony NEX-3: Sensor Comparison

Nikon D80 has a 10.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Sony NEX-3 has a 14.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.

Below you can see the D80 and NEX-3 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 Cameras

Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 have almost the same sensor size so none of them has any significant advantage over other in providing control over depth of field when used with 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. Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that NEX-3 has a better overall score of 68, 7 points higher compared to D80's score of 61.

Model	Overall	Color Depth	Dynamic Range	Low-light ISO
Nikon D80	61	22.1 bits	11.2 Evs	524 ISO
Sony NEX-3	68	22.1 bits	12.0 Evs	830 ISO

Nikon D80 vs Sony NEX-3 Comparison of Available Lenses

Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Nikon D80 has an advantage over Sony NEX-3. There are 309 lenses for Nikon D80's Nikon F mount, on the other hand there are only 142 lenses for Sony NEX-3's Sony E lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. None of these bodies have sensor based image stabilization so you have to buy lenses with Optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 106 lenses for Nikon F mount and 32 lenses for Sony E mount with IS.

Lens Type	# of Nikon D80 Lenses	# of Sony NEX-3 Lenses
Standard Zoom	33	13
Standard Prime	21	23
Wideangle Zoom	33	8
Wideangle Prime	48	46
Telephoto Zoom	53	10
Telephoto Prime	45	19
SuperZoom	30	9
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	8	2
Macro Prime	26	8
Perspective Control Prime	11	2
Telephoto Mirror Prime	1	n/a
TOTAL	309	142

Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 to see how these lenses compares:

Fast Standard Zoom Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon 17-55mm f2.8G ED-IF	25.5 - 82.5mm	755gr	1423gr	111mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony E 16-55mm F2.8 G	24 - 82.5mm	494gr	791gr	100mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM	75 - 225mm	1350gr	2018gr	198mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony E 55-210mm F4.5-6.3 OSS	82.5 - 315mm	345gr	642gr	108mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Normal Prime Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon 35mm f1.8G	52.5mm	210gr	878gr	53mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony E 35mm F1.8 OSS	52.5mm	155gr	452gr	45mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Wideangle Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon 10-24mm f3-5-4.5G ED	15 - 36mm	460gr	1128gr	87mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS	15 - 27mm	225gr	522gr	64mm	Amazon B&H Photo

24-105mm f4 Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon DX 16-80mm F2.8-4E ED VR	24 - 120mm	480gr	1148gr	86mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony E 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS	24 - 105mm	308gr	605gr	75mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Super-Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR	80 - 400mm	1570gr	2238gr	203mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony E 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS	105 - 525mm	625gr	922gr	142mm	Amazon B&H Photo

What types of Photography are Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Nikon D80 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Sony NEX-3 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Large APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Sony NEX-3 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details

Large APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Sony NEX-3 for Sports Photography

AVERAGE

Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
No Image Stabilization
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Focus Points
Read the details

Fast Continuous Shooting: 7.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
25 Focus Points
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Sony NEX-3 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Large Body
668g
Body Thickness 77mm
Read the details

Large APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
297g
Medium size Body
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sony NEX-3 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
No Live-view
Read the details

Large APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon D80 vs Sony NEX-3: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Nikon D80 and Sony NEX-3 scores compare:

Nikon D80

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #71 out of 95 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #612 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Sony NEX-3

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #98 out of 128 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #421 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Sony NEX-3 is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon D80 in all criteria.
It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money

Sony NEX-3 vs Nikon D80 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Nikon D80	Sony Alpha NEX-3
Brand	Nikon	Sony
Announced	2006-09-23	2010-06-07
Body Type	Mid-size SLR	Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type	CCD	CMOS
Size	APS-C	APS-C
Dimensions	23.6 x 15.8 mm	23.4 x 15.6 mm
Area	372.88mm²	365.04mm²
Megapixels	10 megapixels	14 megapixels
Max Resolution	3872 x 2592	4592 x 3056
Max Native Light sensitivity	1,600 ISO	12,800 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	3200 ISO	-
Min Native Light sensitivity	100 ISO	200 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points	n/a	25
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Nikon F	Sony E
Number of Available Lenses	309	142
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Tilting
Size	2.5"	3"
Resolution	230k dots	920k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical (pentaprism)	None
Viewfinder Coverage	95%	n/a
Viewfinder Magnification	0.64x	n/a
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	No	No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	13.00 m	12.00 m
Max Flash Sync	1/200s	1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	3.0 fps	7.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	None	1280 x 720
Video Formats	n/a	MPEG-4
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	Eye-Fi Connected
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	668g	297g
Dimensions	132 x 103 x 77mm	117 x 62 x 33mm
Battery Life	n/a	330 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	61	68
DxO Color Depth	22.1	22.1
DxO Dynamic Range	11.2	12.0
DxO Low Light ISO	524	830
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