Sony A3000: The Cheapest Beginner DSLR Ever…Sort Of

Sony A3000: The Cheapest Beginner DSLR Ever…Sort Of

Sony’s A3000 DLSR is cheap. Super cheap. It costs $499 paired with a 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. These days, that’s more or less the price of an advanced point-and-shoot camera from Canon, and it’s considerably cheaper than Sony’s badass RX100 II point-and-shoot. So what gives? And what’s up with DSLRs?

The A3000 is compact, very inexpensive DSLR aimed at the shifting market of amateur photographers that prefer these cameras. DSLRs used to have more professional cachet than they do now, but the reality is that for the money, consumers who know better would more likely spring for a compact or a mirrorless camera (like the one we’ll discuss below) instead of these larger cameras.

Probably the cameras most striking feature besides its price tag is that it’ll naturally accept smaller E-Mount (NEX) lenses rather than the A-mount lenses Sony DSLRs usually take. The A-mount lenses will work with an approved converter accessory.

The A3000 is very small, but aside from its size, the camera’s specifications aren’t shocking. Like the last batch of cheap Sony DSLRs, the camera features a digital viewfinder, a 20.1-megapixel APS-C sensor, and all of the on-body controls dials you’d expect from a DSLR including the all-important P/A/S/M mode dial. Despite its compact size, the camera retains it an electronic viewfinder just like its predecessors. For video, it shoots Full HD (1920 x 1080) video at either 24 or 60 frames per second.

With and E-mount and an electronic viewfinder, you might start to wonder if the A3000 isn’t just a mirrorless NEX camera in DSLR disguise. The truth is that line has been blurry for a very long time since Sony switched its DSLRs to “single-lens translucent” cameras to begin with. Can a camera with an electronic viewfinder be called a DSLR? You could argue that the company hasn’t made a “true” DSLR in some time. I prefer to call this camera what it’s trying oh-so-hard to be: a bulkier shooter for people who equate the bulk and form factor of the past with quality.

The bottom line is that at $499, you’re looking at a price tag that the competition from cameras like the $600 Canon 100D just can’t touch.

New E-Mount Lenses

In addition to expanding its E-mount into new territory with the A3000, Sony is expanding its line of lenses to make the system more accessible to people who are used to — or expect the massive lens ecosystems offered by Sony’s competitors.

Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS Zoom Lens ($US1000)

A fancy wide-angle to medium zoom lens.


E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS Power Zoom Lens ($US600)

A wide angle to telephoto zoom that’s relatively affordable given its huge range and compact size.


50mm F1.8 Portrait

A well-priced, wide-aperture, fixed-focal-length lens great for street photography — don’t stand right on top of your subject because you won’t be able to focus.



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