 This is David with The Verge and this is the Sony Alpha NEX-F3. It's a brand new camera, it's an update to last year's NEX-C3. And the NEX cameras are generally great because they put DSLR-sized APS-C sensor into a much smaller more inexpensive body. The F3 is not a huge physical change from the C3. It's actually a little larger, it weighs about a pound with the kit lens on and it's almost two inches thick. It kind of feels more like the NEX-7 than the NEX-C3. It's still small for a digital camera but this is definitely not something you can just drop into your pocket and carry around with you. There are some additions that come with the bigger size though. You get a much bigger, more usable grip that actually makes the camera possible to hold just in one hand. And you get the awesome pop-up flash from the NEX-7. You can bounce it or move it down so it's a much more useful flash than most. There aren't very many dials or buttons to speak of on the camera. You do almost everything using the on-screen menu. All of the menus help you get used to the camera or tweak settings in ways that make sense and it's just really simple. But if you've used a DSLR before, it's going to feel really clunky and hard to change settings. The camera has a super sharp 3-inch LCD and it's filled with 921,000 dots. The screen is great. It's really accurate with really good colors. It's not necessarily very bright by default and can be hard to see outdoors but fortunately you can make it brighter manually. The screen also tilts so you can shoot above your head or below your waist while still being able to see the screen, which is cool. But it doesn't rotate quite enough down so if you're holding the camera above your head, it's still a little hard to see. Unfortunately the screen's not a touchscreen like the NEX-5N but it's still pretty easy to navigate with the scroll wheel on the back and there are few menus and they're really icon based so it's pretty easy to navigate anyway. You get lots of art filters and scene modes on the camera and a lot of really wide ranging and powerful auto modes. The camera also charges via micro USB instead of needing a separate charger, which is again just designed to make it easier to use and less cumbersome to carry, which is pretty great. Images shot with the NEX-F3 generally look really good and they're certainly a huge step up from a point and shoot camera. Images are really sharp, details are pretty good and there's really accurate colors. The biggest problem is dynamic range. Anytime you have spots in the image that are particularly dark or particularly bright, whatever ends up being the brightest spot in the image is going to get totally blown out often to the point where pictures look overexposed and just bad. Anytime you have relatively uniform or controlled brightness, you'll get photos that look great but outdoor photos almost always look overexposed, which is a problem with a camera like this. Low light performance is pretty solid too, it has ISO range up to 16,000 and you can shoot up to about ISO 3200 and you'll still get great looking photos, but things drop off way after that. You definitely get some noise once you start cranking up the ISO levels. The NEX-F3 can also now shoot 1080p video at 24 frames per second or 1080i video at 60 frames per second. The C3 couldn't shoot 1080p video at all so it's a nice upgrade. Video looks pretty good, it's a little oversaturated and darks can be a little too dark at some points but the video still looks good. The camera will autofocus and zoom while recording video but autofocus in particular isn't particularly great. It searches a lot and focuses and refocuses really fast so you get this kind of jarring experience as you go in and out of focus and it switches as you record video. Autofocus in general is actually one of the biggest weaknesses with the NEX-F3. It's just slow and not particularly precise. It takes a half second or more to find a focus point even on still images and will often go past the point of focus and then try to come back. Otherwise the camera is actually pretty fast, it's a bit slower than the NEX-5N but it'll shoot about 5.5 photos per second in burst mode. There's very little shutter lag and it can turn on and start shooting photos in just over 2 seconds. In general if you're coming from a point and shoot camera the NEX-F3 is a great option especially at $599. You get a big sensor and a fast processor and a lot of manual controls even though the interface helps them feel more accessible and less complicated. Anyone looking to upgrade from a point and shoot camera should definitely consider one of the NEX models but which one you buy will depend on which features you really think you need and how much you're willing to spend.
 This is David with The Verge and this is the Sony Alpha NEX-F3.
 It's a brand new camera, it's an update to last year's NEX-C3.
 And the NEX cameras are generally great because they put DSLR-sized APS-C sensor into a much
 smaller more inexpensive body.
 The F3 is not a huge physical change from the C3.
 It's actually a little larger, it weighs about a pound with the kit lens on and it's almost
 two inches thick.
 It kind of feels more like the NEX-7 than the NEX-C3.
 It's still small for a digital camera but this is definitely not something you can just
 drop into your pocket and carry around with you.
 There are some additions that come with the bigger size though.
 You get a much bigger, more usable grip that actually makes the camera possible to hold
 just in one hand.
 And you get the awesome pop-up flash from the NEX-7.
 You can bounce it or move it down so it's a much more useful flash than most.
 There aren't very many dials or buttons to speak of on the camera.
 You do almost everything using the on-screen menu.
 All of the menus help you get used to the camera or tweak settings in ways that make
 sense and it's just really simple.
 But if you've used a DSLR before, it's going to feel really clunky and hard to change settings.
 The camera has a super sharp 3-inch LCD and it's filled with 921,000 dots.
 The screen is great.
 It's really accurate with really good colors.
 It's not necessarily very bright by default and can be hard to see outdoors but fortunately
 you can make it brighter manually.
 The screen also tilts so you can shoot above your head or below your waist while still
 being able to see the screen, which is cool.
 But it doesn't rotate quite enough down so if you're holding the camera above your head,
 it's still a little hard to see.
 Unfortunately the screen's not a touchscreen like the NEX-5N but it's still pretty easy
 to navigate with the scroll wheel on the back and there are few menus and they're really
 icon based so it's pretty easy to navigate anyway.
 You get lots of art filters and scene modes on the camera and a lot of really wide ranging
 and powerful auto modes.
 The camera also charges via micro USB instead of needing a separate charger, which is again
 just designed to make it easier to use and less cumbersome to carry, which is pretty
 great.
 Images shot with the NEX-F3 generally look really good and they're certainly a huge step
 up from a point and shoot camera.
 Images are really sharp, details are pretty good and there's really accurate colors.
 The biggest problem is dynamic range.
 Anytime you have spots in the image that are particularly dark or particularly bright,
 whatever ends up being the brightest spot in the image is going to get totally blown
 out often to the point where pictures look overexposed and just bad.
 Anytime you have relatively uniform or controlled brightness, you'll get photos that look great
 but outdoor photos almost always look overexposed, which is a problem with a camera like this.
 Low light performance is pretty solid too, it has ISO range up to 16,000 and you can
 shoot up to about ISO 3200 and you'll still get great looking photos, but things drop
 off way after that.
 You definitely get some noise once you start cranking up the ISO levels.
 The NEX-F3 can also now shoot 1080p video at 24 frames per second or 1080i video at
 60 frames per second.
 The C3 couldn't shoot 1080p video at all so it's a nice upgrade.
 Video looks pretty good, it's a little oversaturated and darks can be a little too dark at some
 points but the video still looks good.
 The camera will autofocus and zoom while recording video but autofocus in particular isn't particularly
 great.
 It searches a lot and focuses and refocuses really fast so you get this kind of jarring
 experience as you go in and out of focus and it switches as you record video.
 Autofocus in general is actually one of the biggest weaknesses with the NEX-F3.
 It's just slow and not particularly precise.
 It takes a half second or more to find a focus point even on still images and will often
 go past the point of focus and then try to come back.
 Otherwise the camera is actually pretty fast, it's a bit slower than the NEX-5N but it'll
 shoot about 5.5 photos per second in burst mode.
 There's very little shutter lag and it can turn on and start shooting photos in just
 over 2 seconds.
 In general if you're coming from a point and shoot camera the NEX-F3 is a great option
 especially at $599.
 You get a big sensor and a fast processor and a lot of manual controls even though the
 interface helps them feel more accessible and less complicated.
 Anyone looking to upgrade from a point and shoot camera should definitely consider one
 of the NEX models but which one you buy will depend on which features you really think
 you need and how much you're willing to spend.