Sony a3500 at a glance

Sony a3500

Sony a3000 and Sony a3500 are the only mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensor made in SLR form factor. That means they outwardly resemble classic cropped SLR cameras - have a large handle, a built-in flash 'beak', a viewfinder on the other side of this beak, and relatively large sizes. Unfortunately, or fortunately, Sony no longer produces such cameras.

Sony a3500 and Sony a3000, in fact, are the same camera. The only differences between the Sony a3500 and Sony a3000 are as follows:

Sony a3500 newer model introduced 24 March 2014 yearwhile the camera Sony a3000 was introduced 27 August 2013 year.
Sony a3500 comes with a rare and simple regular lens Sony E 4-5.6 / 18-50 (SEL1850), While the Sony a3000 Comes with a classic full-time / whale lens Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS (Optical Steady Shot, E-mount).
The Sony a3500 was shipped to only a few countries and regions. Model Sony a3000 sold without any restrictions

Sony a3000 became the first camera to be renamed Sony ILCE (Iinterchangeable Lens Camera with E-mount, 'E' mount interchangeable lens camera). Later this name of cameras was transferred to full-frame Sony cameras ILCE lines Sony a7, a7r, a7s, a7c, a9, a1, as well as cropped cameras Sony NEX / Alpha. IN EXIF images from all these cameras in the field 'name' of the model is written 'ILCE + serial number of the model'. So Sony a3500 in EXIF called 'ILCE-3500'.

Sony a3500

Main features of Sony a3500:

20 MP Exmor APS-C HD CMOS sensor, maximum image size: 5456 X 3632 pixels (19.816.192 pixels). The same sensor was used in the Sony a3000, Sony a5000 cameras and in the Sony QX1 smartphone module. Most likely, the same sensor is also used by a camera with a translucent mirror Sony SLT a58. And with a high degree of probability, the same sensor is used by Pentax K-S1 and Pentax K-S2 SLR cameras. The sensor on the a3500 compares favorably with some of the older 14 and 16 MP Sony sensors by using a minimum ISO of 100 instead of a minimum of ISO 200. It's a pity, but the RAW format uses only 12 bit color depth and only lossy compression.
The ISO range is 100-16.000 in increments of 1 step. There is an auto-ISO without setting any parameters (the entire ISO range is available, and the minimum excerpt always 1/60 of a second). The BIONZ processor is working on the image, the noise level is close to the old 16 MP and the first 24 MP sensors from Sony.
Shutter with the first electronic shutter, excerpts from 1/4000 second to 30 seconds. Exposure 1/160 second sync.
Focusing only by contrast, there is no hybrid auto focus using phase sensors.
FUll HD 50i AVCHD or 25p, H264, maximum 24 Mbps, built-in stereo microphone. There is no connector for an external microphone, no HDMI for recording video or broadcasting to an external device. It's important: some a3500 cameras support Full HD 60i. Information about the maximum video quality on the a3500 is indicated on the information plate on the bottom of the camera. Most likely, the differences are related to the region or country into which this or that party was preparing.
EVI 0.2 inch QVGA Tru-Finder 201.600 points and with an increase of 0.7 x and 100% frame coverage, there is a diopter adjustment. In my time Sony a3000/ a3500 were the only alternative for the more expensive Sony NEX-6 and Sony NEX-7 with integrated EVI.
The display is 3 inches and 230.000 points, not rotary, not touch. Fairly mediocre. a3000/ a3500 use the simplest display among all Sony NEX / ALPHA / ILCE APS-C cameras.
Switch between display or EVI always performed using the button located to the left of the main command dial.
Also Sony a3500 is one of slowest cameras among all Sony NEX / Aplpha / ILCE. Maximum burst speed with support for autofocus and metering exposure - 2.5 frames per second... With locked autofocus and exposure - 3.5 frames per second.
With a fast memory card in JPEG Fine 20M format, continuous shooting does not slow down at all. In RAW+JPEG format, only 4 images are placed in the buffer, after which the burst shooting speed drops significantly. It's important: a3500 cannot shoot only in RAW format, you can either JPEG or RAW + JPEG FINE. RAW ('.ARW') files weigh an average of 20 MB.
The camera can use Memory Stick PRO Duo / XC-HG Duo or SDHC/SDXC without high-speed bus support. Memory cards SD are deeply recessed into the recess of the card reader and are not always convenient to remove. The maximum write speed to a memory card is about 12 MB/second, so there is no point in buying high-speed memory cards for this camera.
There is only one Micro USB connector and a multi-connector on the shoe. The camera can be charged via Micro USB.
The covers of all compartments are plastic. Plastic finger patch, just mimics a rubber pad. Overlay on EVI also plastic. The handle is rubberized, the rubber “does not float” over time.
It's important: the cameras are used plastic bayonet petals. Only the outer bayonet ring is metallic. In fact, the lens on the camera is fixed using these petals, and therefore we can assume that the a3500 mount is still plastic. I noticed that with some lenses there is a slight backlash in the bayonet mount. I associate such a backlash with plastic petals.
The instructions stated that on a single battery charge the camera can stretch about 480 shots. But this figure is due to the use of the built-in flash. I managed to get more than 5.000 frames on a single charge.
There are several interesting and useful features: Auto HDR, Auto DR, auto-correct some lens deficiencies, smile shutter release, detect and focus on face/faces in frame, panorama function, various creative shooting modes, focus picking, quick zoom for precise focusing etc.

Sony a3500

Sample Photos

All photos in the review are shown without processing. Used a Sony α3500 camera and lens Yongnuo YN50mm F1.8S DA DSM... All photos are on-camera JPEG. Picture control 'Standard 0/0/0', multiple pictures in 'Standard 0/1/1'. Functions' Corr. ob .: Shading ',' Corr. about: Chrome. aberr. ' and 'Corr. rev .: Distortion 'have been disabled.

Original JPEG '.JPG' photos can be download from this link (129 photos, 600 MB). Original RAW '.RW2' photos can be download from this link (32 photos, 500 MB).

Sony a3500 with lens Sony E 4-5.6 / 18-50 (SEL1850)

More sample photos

Many examples of photos on the Sony α3500 with links to the source files can be found in the reviews of the following lenses:

Sony a3500 with lens Sony E 3.5-5.6 / 18-55 OSS (Optical Steady Shot, E-mount)

My experience

I took the Sony a3500 as a cropped camera with an APS-C sensor and E-mount to create several full-fledged reviews of cropped lenses for this mount. As a result, this camera got accustomed to me and I often shoot something on it (the list of reviews in which she took part is much larger than the one located above).

First of all, I took the Sony a3500 because of the convenient grip, similar to the classic large grip of SLR cameras. When shooting for days on end, you greatly appreciate the comfort of the grip. Otherwise, camera control is very limited, most settings can be set only through the main menu.

I got the impression that the Sony a3500 saved wherever they could. It seems that all the basic functions are in place, but at the same time, everything is very truncated and as simple as possible (display, EVI, menu, buffer, bayonet petals, connectors, etc.). The 'Sony' lettering came off the shoulder strap after just 2 weeks of use. However, it is imperative to remember that the camera at the time of sales, as well as now, on the used market. photographic equipment is very cheap.

Sorry EVI I was disappointed, but I quickly got used to it. With grief in half it can be used. The main display is also rather weak, not rotary and not touch, with not the best viewing angles. The most unpleasant feature was the inability to shoot in RAW (only RAW + JPEG or JPEG).

Some users assured me that the Sony a3500 is the best mirrorless crop from Sony in terms of color reproduction, but the color of the Sony a3500 is still very similar to the old models with 16 MP sensors from Sony: NEX-C3, NEX-F3, NEX-3Women, NEX-5N, NEX-5R, NEX-5T, NEX-6. In terms of noise and dynamic range, the Sony a3500 is located slightly above older cameras with a 16 MP sensor, and is not much inferior to some 24 MP cameras.