Nikon
D3200
 vs
Sony
SLT-A37

Nikon D3200
 
Sony SLT-A37
 

Reasons to buy the Nikon D3200

Low light performance
 Low noise at high ISO
1,131 ISO
Overall image quality
 Great image quality
81.0
Movie format
 Full HD
1080p @ 30fps
Color depth
 Great color depth
24.1 bits
Dynamic range
 Wide dynamic range
13.2 EV
True resolution
 High true resolution
24.1 MP
 

Reasons to buy the Sony SLT-A37

Movie format
 Full HD
1080p @ 60fps
Viewfinder size
 Large viewfinder
0.72x
Image stabilization
 Image stabilization
Sensor shift
Light sensitivity
 High ISO
25,600 ISO
Continuous shooting
 Rapid fire
7 fps
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
 

differences

Advantages of the Nikon D3200
Screen size Much larger screen 3.0" vs 2.6"
Help
 Around 20% larger screen
Screen resolution Much higher resolution screen 921k dots vs 230k dots
Help
 More than 4x higher resolution screen
True resolution Much higher true resolution 24.1 MP vs 16 MP
Help
 Capture more than 50% more detail in your photos
Lens availability Much more lenses available 169 lenses vs 92 lenses
Help
 More than 80% more lenses available
Viewfinder Has an optical viewfinder Pentamirror vs Digital
Help
 Optical viewfinders save battery life and are more detailed
Startup delay Less startup delay 400 ms vs 900 ms
Help
 2.2x less delay when turning on
Thickness Significantly thinner 3" vs 3.3"
Help
 10% thinner
Size Smaller 125x96x76 mm vs 124x92x85 mm
Help
 Around 10% smaller
Battery life Slightly longer battery life 540 shots vs 500 shots
Help
 Around 10% more shots per battery charge
Nikon D3200 Learn more about
the Nikon D3200

Advantages of the Sony SLT-A37
Viewfinder size Much larger viewfinder 0.72x vs 0.50x
Help
 More than 2x larger viewfinder
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 25,600 ISO vs 6,400 ISO
Help
 The SLT-A37's maximum light sensitivity is 2 f-stops better
Image stabilization Image stabilization Sensor shift vs None
Help
 Helps eliminate blur caused by small camera movements
HDR Has in-camera HDR Yes vs No
Help
 Combines multiple exposures to capture high dynamic range
3D Takes 3D photos Yes vs No
Help
 Combines multiple photos into a 3D image
Panorama Can create panoramas in-camera Yes vs No
Help
 Stitches together multiple photos for a wide perspective
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen Yes vs No
Help
 Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies
Autofocus Faster video autofocus Phase detection vs Contrast detection
Help
 Shoot videos without worrying about focus
Continuous shooting Shoots significantly faster 7 fps vs 4 fps
Help
 Around 80% faster continuous shooting
Viewfinder coverage Significantly better viewfinder coverage 100% vs 95%
Help
 Around 10% better viewfinder coverage
Lens focus motor Has a built-in focus motor Yes vs No
Help
 Autofocuses with all autofocus lenses
Sensor size Larger sensor APS-C 23.4x15.6mm vs APS-C 23.2x15.4mm
Help
 Almost the same
Cross type focus points More cross-type focus points 3 vs 1
Help
 Grab focus in difficult situations
Focus points More focus points 15 vs 11
Help
 Set focus accurately within the frame
Lowest price Cheaper $482.00 vs $546.95
Help
 The best price we've seen is $65 cheaper (more than 10% less)
Sony SLT-A37 Learn more about
the Sony SLT-A37
vs

recommendations

Snapsort can't make a recommendation (yet) because it doesn't have enough data yet about the Sony SLT-A37.

similarities

Compared to recent entry-level DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Movie continuous focus Focus continuously recording movies Help
Makes it easy to get in-focus movies
Supports 24p 24p support Help
For that film look
Weight Light weight Help
D3200:505 g
SLT-A37:506 g
Fastest shutter speed Slow max shutter speed Help
1/4000 of a second
Weather sealed Neither is weather sealed Help
Need to shelter it from weather

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100

Entry-level DSLR

$497 body only

$597 - $805 with 18-55mm lens
Battery life Has a slightly longer battery life
Light sensitivity (boost) Slightly higher boost light sensitivity
Weight Is slightly heavier
Size Is slightly larger
Compare the D5100 vs the D3200
Compare the D5100 vs the SLT-A37
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$549 body only

$599 - $649 with 18-55mm lens
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D3200
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the SLT-A37
Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100

Entry-level DSLR

$447 - $740 with 18-55mm lens
Thickness Is thinner
External mic jack Lacks and external mic jack
True resolution Takes slightly lower resolution photos
Compare the D3100 vs the D3200
Compare the D3100 vs the SLT-A37
Nikon D5200

Nikon D5200

Entry-level DSLR

$697 body only

$797 with 18-55mm lens
Low light performance Is slightly less noisy at high ISO
Focus points Has significantly more focus points
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Size Is slightly larger
Compare the D5200 vs the D3200
Compare the D5200 vs the SLT-A37
Canon 650D / T4i

Canon Rebel T4i

Entry-level DSLR

$699 - $800 body only

$749 with 18-55mm lens
Touch screen Has a touch screen
Cross type focus points Has significantly more cross-type focus points
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Rebel T4i vs the D3200
Compare the Rebel T4i vs the SLT-A37
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$897 body only

$997 with 18-105mm lens
Weather sealed Has a weather sealed body
Viewfinder Has higher quality type of viewfinder
Lowest price Is significantly more expensive
Weight Is much heavier
Compare the D7000 vs the D3200
Compare the D7000 vs the SLT-A37
Canon Rebel T3

Canon Rebel T3

Entry-level DSLR

$332 body only

$449 - $499 with 18-55mm lens
Battery life Has a slightly longer battery life
Lowest price Is slightly less expensive
Sensor cleaning Lacks a self cleaning sensor
Size Is slightly larger
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the D3200
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the SLT-A37

Nikon D3200 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Entry-level DSLR

$599 - $899 body only

$799 - $1,099 with 18-105mm lens
Viewfinder size Significantly larger viewfinder
Battery life Significantly longer battery life
Movie format Lower resolution movies
True resolution Much lower true resolution
Compare the D90 vs the D3200

Sony SLT-A37 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Sony SLT-A37.

appearance

Nikon D3200 Sony SLT-A37
Nikon D3200 Sony SLT-A37
Nikon D3200 Sony SLT-A37

discussion

Showing 4 comments

Avatar for AppleEnforcer AppleEnforcer (5:55 PM, March 28, 2013)
Thanks
 
riju san (2:04 PM, March 28, 2013)
go for sony.
 
mim (4:47 PM, March 26, 2013)
I am also stuck with which one is better they both have good and bad points so they even each other out making it hard to choose. I am mainly going to be using the camera for taking photos not so much video's, so I think i'm edging more towards the Nikon D3200.
 
Avatar for AppleEnforcer AppleEnforcer (5:00 PM, July 11, 2012)
I was just wondering which of these two cameras is a better buy for a beginner?
The Sony A37 seems to be packed with better features for the money. But, I am confused here.