Tempted to buy a NEX, anything better?

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One of my friends has a Nex5 (at least I think it's the 5) which is really nice, good high iso performance etc and I'm tempted to get myself one but wonder if there's anything else that anyone would suggest.

I want to be able to shoot RAW and at high iso, noise at high iso wouldn't actually bother me but the Lumix compact I have now gets really flat and muddy at high ISOs and I'd like to avoid that.

Fixed or prime lens is fine so long as it's quite wide, 24mm (eq) or thereabouts - if I get a NEX I'd probably get it with just the 16mm.

I'd like to get into doing a bit of video so the 1080p capability of the NEX5 appeals as does the ability to manually focus while filming.

Being able to manually (de)focus while shooting stills would be a definite requirement I think.

Budget...not too much (ie no-one go and suggest the fuji x100 ok)
 
Sounds like you have already sold your self on the Nex, just go and buy it now, Im sure you will love it, it looks a loverly camera
 
The big advantage of this tiny little powerhouse is it's ability to use legacy lenses. With a tiny adapter the world of lenses opens right up for you.

I use my NEX 5 with a metabones adapter (bought here) and my Leica lenses. The results are breathtaking. Initially I was a little wary of bunging 2K lenses on a 2 bob pocketable point and shoot, but this camera is very special.

Get one - you will never regret it (unless they bring a newer one out next week).
 
I came from Canon and Nikon DSLR's and changed to smaller interchangable lens camera for travelling reasons, i have had a 5 for a couple of days now and i cannot put it down, its an amazing piece of kit it really is. It was a little hard adjusting to the size of it coming from big DSLR world, you can't help thinking that there is something missing, but once you realise that the whole kit is in your hand and not in a bag over your shoulder, you get used to it.

Forget what you read about the menu system, i think that's just NEX haters, i haven't had any problems.

Image quality outdoes its competition ad video is superb.


Don't get me wrong, i was sold on the EPL-1 before i saw this, and i came close to buying it a few times, the GH1 seems to be really popular too as the lens choice is large, but to be honest, witht the right adapters you can have just the same choice in lenses.
 
The Nex cameras are brilliant now the menu issue has been sorted out :) I use mine primarily with a manual focus 35/1.7 cctv lens and have had some fantastic results, especially at high ISO (1600-3200).

Just a couple of quick boring samples (not sure if my pals would like me posting pics of them without permission lol) @ ISO 1600:

nex5.jpg


81.jpg


85.jpg
 
manualfocus-g said:
The Nex cameras are brilliant now the menu issue has been sorted out :) I use mine primarily with a manual focus 35/1.7 cctv lens and have had some fantastic results, especially at high ISO (1600-3200).

Just a couple of quick boring samples (not sure if my pals would like me posting pics of them without permission lol) @ ISO 1600:

nex5.jpg


81.jpg


85.jpg
Click to expand...

:eek: That's some excellent noise handling!
 
I think I have sold myself on the NEX, just got to find the cash now because this will be an addition to my lineup rather than a change.

For those that own one, I am right in saying that manual focus while videoing is possible aren't I?
 
I bought a Nex-3 on here and loved it straight away (although having no viewfinder won't make it everyone's cup of tea). I have since bought a Nex-5 as the body is slightly nicer to hold (it's slightly smaller, but has a bigger grip and feels higher quality). IQ is the same though so grab what feels best in your hands :)
 
manualfocus-g said:
I bought a Nex-3 on here and loved it straight away (although having no viewfinder won't make it everyone's cup of tea). I have since bought a Nex-5 as the body is slightly nicer to hold (it's slightly smaller, but has a bigger grip and feels higher quality). IQ is the same though so grab what feels best in your hands :)
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If the only difference is price and 1080p video as opposed to 720p then it might be a case of whichever feels better on my wallet.

I've heard chat of editing software not liking the avchd (or whatever it is) video format that the NEXs make, is this just naysayers saying nay or is there truth in it?
 
Play have a really good deal on the 3 with the 16mm and I have a lens on ebay right now (not been here long enough to sell yet) so if lens sells I'll get the 3.
 
Lunaticsamurai said:
I came from Canon and Nikon DSLR's and changed to smaller interchangable lens camera for travelling reasons, i have had a 5 for a couple of days now and i cannot put it down, its an amazing piece of kit it really is. It was a little hard adjusting to the size of it coming from big DSLR world, you can't help thinking that there is something missing, but once you realise that the whole kit is in your hand and not in a bag over your shoulder, you get used to it.

Forget what you read about the menu system, i think that's just NEX haters, i haven't had any problems.

Image quality outdoes its competition ad video is superb.

Don't get me wrong, i was sold on the EPL-1 before i saw this, and i came close to buying it a few times, the GH1 seems to be really popular too as the lens choice is large, but to be honest, witht the right adapters you can have just the same choice in lenses.
Click to expand...

How does the ISO performance serve ya? Comparable to some entry level dslr?
 
Tony, the camera has a DSLR sensor and so is more than comparable to most DSLRs, not just entry level models. It actually has the same sensor as the Sony a450 and a550, although I suspect they've tweaked it as high ISO performance certainly seems better than that of the a450.

If you're looking for a comparison, it's better than a Canon EOS 1000D and older and way better than a Nikon D3000.
 
manualfocus-g said:
Tony, the camera has a DSLR sensor and so is more than comparable to most DSLRs, not just entry level models. It actually has the same sensor as the Sony a450 and a550, although I suspect they've tweaked it as high ISO performance certainly seems better than that of the a450.

If you're looking for a comparison, it's better than a Canon EOS 1000D and older and way better than a Nikon D3000.
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I really don't expect that. I mean Sony is cramping lots of features in a small body, although the sensor sizes are the same, its amazing if its better than the canon 1000d. I saw some reviews of the Samsung nx100, and it has got the same sensor as an entry level dslr. But the ISO performance is worse than the four third cameras which has a smaller sensor than it has. That's why in wondering how the nex handle its ISO.
 
I've only seen the odd high iso shot from my mate's NEX5 but they look good.
The iso 1600 images posted by manualfocus-g look pretty darn good.

I just ordered the 3 and the 16mm from Play.
The 16mm seems to get mixed reviews but I found one site that said it was very soft in the corners and then gave sample images which really didn't seem all that bad at all in the corners.
The main selling point on the 16mm for me was the pocketability.
I (intentionally) haven't taken a sharp picture in weeks anyway!
 
Tony Stark said:
I really don't expect that. I mean Sony is cramping lots of features in a small body, although the sensor sizes are the same, its amazing if its better than the canon 1000d. I saw some reviews of the Samsung nx100, and it has got the same sensor as an entry level dslr. But the ISO performance is worse than the four third cameras which has a smaller sensor than it has. That's why in wondering how the nex handle its ISO.
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Er, OK. But you are comparing two very different cameras in the Nex and the Samsung models, and the Sony's sensor is much newer than that of the Canon. The Sony Nex-3 gets a DXO High ISO score of 830, whilst the Samsung gets 563...a huge difference.

Just for info, if it helps, I own the following cameras:

Canon EOS 1000D
Canon EOS 60D
Canon EOS 5D
Sony Nex-5

;)
 
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manualfocus-g said:
Er, OK. But you are comparing two very different cameras in the Nex and the Samsung models, and the Sony's sensor is much newer than that of the Canon. The Sony Nex-3 gets a DXO High ISO score of 830, whilst the Samsung gets 563...a huge difference.

Just for info, if it helps, I own the following cameras:

Canon EOS 1000D
Canon EOS 60D
Canon EOS 5D
Sony Nex-5

;)
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Thanks for the info. Anyways I don't always rely on that website because I find some of its statement are not right. But its still a good source of info. Me myself I'm searching for a pocketable camera since what I own ain't that portable. I bought the high end compact the Lumix lx5 and the ISO performance is so bad at 1600. I baby blame it since the sensors are small. Or maybe because I'm so use to my d700's ISO. So I sold that camera n now I'm in the market of compacts again. Been looking at the micro four thirds cameras n I don't think its right for me. Maybe the NEX is the one for me? Who knows..
 
OK I don't get this....

Play.com are selling the Black 16mm & 18-55mm kit for £499.99 but if you buy the kit that JUST has the 16.. it's £504.95 :cuckoo: THEN...if you buy the silver 16mm kit it's just £347.99. :shrug:

So if you're not bothered about colour then I'd go for the silver a it's a bargain of bargains. If you are OK with the NEX3 then this is a bargain at £268.99 Click Here

The Nex kit lenses are in my opinion pretty poor when compared to other cameras in the same price range (M3/4 especially) BUT...and it's a big BUT.. When used with manual focus lenses this thing blows most cameras out the water! There will be more AF lenses for the NEX soon and i hope they are better than the std offerings from Sony. It may be worth getting an adapter so you can fit Sony's DSLR lenses.
 
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It's my understanding that Play prices are a bit bonkers because they act as a marketplace for other sellers, much like Amazon so it's not actually Play charging more for kit with just the 16mm it's whoever has the stock and is selling through Play that sets the price.

As much as I would have liked a black 5 the price on the silver 3 was too good.

WEX have some good deals on opened/returned 5s, they had a body only for £220 or so which was very tempting.
 
If you can get an adapter to use Minolta AF lenses with a NEX then I'd be tempted to get one as the normal SLR is a bulky b****r. With the 50mm 1.7 it would be small, light and good in low light... Minolta MD lenses are cheap as chips so if the AF adapter would cope with those too then I think it would be even better.

If you can get something so you can use old leica or other interesting lenses with it I think it would be quite a fun camera.
 
How does the cctv lens work?
Fixed focus?
I'm seeing a lot of CS mount lenses on ebay for pennies but they have annotations like 4mm or 8mm, even with the aps-c crop facter taken onto consideration that's still a VERY wide lens or does it not work like that?
 
Just noticed the pics up there were taken with a 35mm cctv lens.

I like the look of this because it was small, but I think it might be fixed focus.

I have a 50mm f2 Jupiter lens on a Zorki that I might buy a converter for, it has a smooth, clickless aperture ring.

Is price the main attraction of the cctv lenses? *** they don't seem all that small and surely IQ isn't going to be amazing? (that said the examples posted here look pretty good)

I found a youtube video hot with a 35mm cctv lens but it said the image circle wasn't big enough to cover the sensor so he had cropped the video down, seems a bit silly to throw away a big chunk of sensor.
 
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I should point out that only certain CCTV lenses will work with the Nex, as you quite rightly point out, some will not cover the sensor.

A 12mm lens will have an effective focal length of 18mm...not sure how useful that will be in most circumstances to be honest.

The lens I went for is branded Fujian TV lens f=35mm 1:1.7...plenty of them about on ebay from £14.00 + postage. You will need a C mount adapter as well though (another tenner or so). It's about 18mm shorter than the kit zoom lens, and a lot faster and covers the whole sensor.

I also bought an M42 adapter, and a fast 50mm lens on that is about the same length as the kit zoom lens, but of course 50mm on crop is a bit long for general photography.
 
Wuffstuff said:
The big advantage of this tiny little powerhouse is it's ability to use legacy lenses. With a tiny adapter the world of lenses opens right up for you.

I use my NEX 5 with a metabones adapter (bought here) and my Leica lenses. The results are breathtaking. Initially I was a little wary of bunging 2K lenses on a 2 bob pocketable point and shoot, but this camera is very special.

Get one - you will never regret it (unless they bring a newer one out next week).
Click to expand...


I love this idea of yours, its made me wish I had brought a Nex 5 and some really expensive lenes now, have you got any pics as an example?
 
Looking at the metabones adapters they also have adapters for nikon F, Contax G and something called 'Alpa'. I'm guessing they mean it's an adapter to use all the sony/minolta AF lenses... Hope they do equivalents for the Sony Alpha series itself as being able to use Nikon or Canon AF lenses with the benefit of in body IS would open up another world of possibilities.
 
Any of the Nex owners out there tried a 3rd party battery yet?
What's the battery life like anyway? With the big screen being the on constantly I'm not expecting much.
 
I think battery was rumoured for around 510 shots, Sony batteries do live up to their expectations as well, mine is stated to last 750 shots and it really does last that many!

I'd say with only the option of LCD for composing it could suck juice quite quickly. Apparently the 7dayshop batteries are meant to be really good and just as good as the OEM batteries so it may be worth having a look there ;)
 
7day are out of stock just now and looking on ebay it seems that bigger names in 3rd party batteries (Phottix, Titan, Hahnel etc) haven't got one out yet.
Some of the listings for 3rd party batteries are saying that they won't work with firmware v3.
I'll stick to the stock battery just now and see what I get from it.
 
Scratch that, there's a Hahnel, the HL-XW50. £35.99 from WEX. Not significantly cheaper anywhere else according to google.
 
fixedimage said:
Scratch that, there's a Hahnel, the HL-XW50. £35.99 from WEX. Not significantly cheaper anywhere else according to google.
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To be honest I'd say wait for a bit and save your cash. I would go out and give the NEX a test run first and see if you do happen to use all the battery up in that time and then it may be worth getting the battery but for £36 it seems better to save the cash until other cheaper batteries become available.
 
mastertrinity said:
To be honest I'd say wait for a bit and save your cash. I would go out and give the NEX a test run first and see if you do happen to use all the battery up in that time and then it may be worth getting the battery but for £36 it seems better to save the cash until other cheaper batteries become available.
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There are other cheaper batteries available but if the Hahnel one doesn't work with firmware v3 or anything then having come from WEX I know I could return it easily enough.
The genuine Sony battery is like £65-75 so the Hahnel is still about half the cost.
 
My memory cards have been dispatched by Play but my camera is still in Packing and I've just noticed the price of the silver Nex3/16mm kit on Play has gone from £268 to £449. It's now more expensive than the Silver5/16mm kit and £150 dearer than the black3/16mm!
 
fixedimage said:
My memory cards have been dispatched by Play but my camera is still in Packing and I've just noticed the price of the silver Nex3/16mm kit on Play has gone from £268 to £449. It's now more expensive than the Silver5/16mm kit and £150 dearer than the black3/16mm!
Click to expand...

I thought the same when I looked at Jessops. The silver NEX 3 kits seem to be about £80 cheaper than the black ones for some reason :shrug:
 
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