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Question

Which compact camera should I get out of these three?

Jun 16, 2014 4:48AM PDT

I'm an intermediate - advanced photographer but my cameras have been more beginner because I do not have a lot of money to spend. I've been looking at the Sony DSC-HX50v, the Canon EOS M, and the Sony NEX-3N, but I'm having trouble narrowing it down. I want something with decent zoom, full manual controls, obviously excellent photo quality, and decent battery life. I don't want to spend anymore than $350 (all three of these cameras can be found for around $300), but which one is the best or at least meets my criteria fairly well? I'm leaning towards the NEX-3N because it has an interchangeable lens, 180 degree tilting LCD (not that that is a priority to me), a bigger sensor than the DSC-HX50v, and good battery life. But I am still enticed by the HX50v because of the 30x zoom and exposure and mode dials.

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
Which lenses?
Jun 16, 2014 3:57PM PDT

A lot depends on which ("decent zoom") lenses you plan to get with the interchangeable lens bodies.

I would also note that the EOS-M was removed from Canon's website a while back, leading some to speculate the M-line has been canceled. (Possibly supplanted by the SL1.)

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras

Mark

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HX50v vs. NEX-3n
Jun 17, 2014 12:22AM PDT

EOS M is out since I was on the fence about it. The HX50v has 30x zoom with 20.4mp, and the NEX-3n has a 16-50mm lens, 16.1mp but it has a bigger sensor than the HX50v

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Can't really compare those two lenses.
Jun 17, 2014 11:32AM PDT

So if you need 30X zoom, you only have one choice.

Conversly, if you only need 16-50mm, then there's no reason to consider the HX50.

Mark

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Image Quality
Jun 18, 2014 6:08AM PDT

Since I'm still split on the two, it comes mostly down to image quality, if the HX50v is generally about the same as the NEX-3n, then I'll just stick with that, but does the bigger sensor in the NEX-3n make image quality that much better compared the HX50v?

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IQ can be significantly affected by zoom/focal length
Jun 18, 2014 11:17AM PDT

e.g. a pic of a sparrow pearched on a high tension powerline will look a lot better when shot with a 500mm lens vs a 50mm lens.

So like I said previously, if you need 30X zoom (700mm+), you only have one choice.

Mark