Sony Alpha NEX-F3 (with 18-55mm lens, Black)

Pros: Overall picture quality (esp. low light)
Video quality
Build
Small size
Built-in flash
Panorama feature
Battery life

Cons: 1080i, not 1080p video
Have to charge battery in camera

Summary: I'll state first that I'm not a professional or expert photographer. I was looking to upgrade my point and shoot since I've been taking a few classes on how to use advanced cameras and take pictures. I did a lot of research and this seemed to be the best bet for the best cost. Other reviews I read of this camera were great. I have taken several trips to national parks with it and have been delighted with its performance. Pictures look stunning. Daylight shots of course look great, but the low-light performance was what really wow-ed me. With my old camera, if I held it and didn't have direct light, the photos would be blurry. Not so with this camera. It has a built-in flash, which I wanted and which some of the other Nex cameras didn't have, but I don't even need to use it that much because it does so well with so little light!

Videos look excellent as well. The missing 1080p feature (it only shoots 1080i) is too bad, but I wasn't willing to fork over a couple hundred more dollars for the next level up. There really isn't a huge difference unless you're shooting fast sports or something. Even then, only a trained eye would notice the difference, and I doubt it would bother anyone too much. One user said it overheated with extended video capture--mine doesn't have that issue. This camera also has stereo sound. Other cameras I looked at only had mono. Videos look clear and smooth and sound great, way better than my camcorder!

As one user said, the menu can be a bit cumbersome at first. But once you configure the external buttons to access the controls you want, it's fine. The camera feels good to hold and is easy to carry around. After spending a full day shooting pictures and video at a national park, I still had almost 3/4 of my battery left! The LCD has a daylight feature, so when I turned that on I had no problem seeing it in the sunlight. I also appreciate that I can purchase extra accessories in the future (i.e. lenses, viewfinder, bigger flash, microphone, etc.).

I think this is a terrific upgrade camera from a point and shoot, no matter what level you are at. I'm getting more advanced each day, so I can use the program modes and tweak what I want. For my wife, she can just turn on the Auto mode or the Superior Auto mode, which do an excellent job at configuring the options for you. I haven't delved into all that this camera can do yet, but so far I am very impressed with it.