Sony appears to have a scattergun approach to model releases.
One of the fruits of this is the ultra budget DSLR lookalike A3000/3500 (the 3500 uses the same body but a lower spec lens) which is actually a MILC of very basic specification, designed to hit an extremely low price point.
It was so cheap I bought one just to test its capabilities. It produced very good picture quality in the right conditions.
What about the ergonomics ?
Setup 5/15
The menu system is a bit hard to figure. Submenu items appear in unexpected places. For instance aspect ratio is listed under Image size.
ISO is under Brightness/Color.
Flash Comp is under Brightness/Color but Flash Mode appears in Camera.
You get the idea. The whole menu system needs a rethink.
Prepare 5/15
There is no Q Menu and no Fn buttons. A trip to the frustrating menu is required for many adjustments.
Holding 12/20
The A3500 looks like a proper camera with a large body and chunky looking handle. But in use the handle proves to be thin and less comfortable than it looks. The thumb support is vestigial which doesn’t help.
Viewing 7/20
There is an EVF located in the optimal position above the lens but it is of very poor quality and low resolution. The monitor is fixed and not adjustable. There is no auto switching between the EVF and monitor and the button for manual switching is very poorly located.
There is a proper battery status indicator which is nice.
Operating 8/25
It's not all bad. If you accept to leave the camera in P Mode and don’t try to change settings much it actually works quite well.
ISO, Drive Mode and +/- are adjustable while looking through the EVF which is nice.
The AF box position can be changed without much difficulty.
Manual focus is not available at all on the 3500.
There is no top of body control (command) dial.
Review 2/5
There is only a single dial on the lower rear of the camera for enlarging and navigating.
Total 39/100
I wanted to run an ergonomic evaluation on the A3500 as it represents the absolute bottom of the budget pricepoint level for a DSLR style camera.
It works quite decently well as long as one has modest expectations but the user experience is not engaging.
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