Zach Daniels shot this very first NEX-5n anamorphic test: “I love the Sony NEX-5n so I decided to throw on my old Nikon mount 135mm f2.8 with a [shoplink 9487 ebay]Schneider 2X anamorphic lens….(one of the cheap ones from eBay)[/shoplink]”.
Joseph Eckert Photography (Click here) posted a new NEX-5n review: “If Sony can fix the video clicking issues, and can start putting out more NEX lenses (including some higher quality prime pancakes [at a reasonable price please]), this will be a tremendous camera.”
Gravity Shots Takes the NEX-5N Flying (SonyAlphaNex).
And now see this:
It is a 5D Mark II & NEX-5N Comparison from Marlon Torres. He writes: “Conclusion: 5D has better overall image quality but Cinestyle preset is much noisier and much more susceptible to banding. 5N is a bit more saturated and a tad sharper. Both cameras produce a nice image.”
Sony NEX-5n shop links: [shopcountry 8452].
22 Responses
Why the obsession about comparing an APS-C mirrorless to a dSLR full frame that costs 4x more?
Personally, I don’t get it.
I’m not going to be in the market for a full frame SLR and suddenly change my mind and buy a NEX
Nor will I think I want a compact mirrorless camera then suddenly decide to buy a £2000 full frame
These two cameras aren’t even competitors.
Maybe you’re not, but some people are – it all depends on your individual needs. I know a few 5D owners who say they haven’t touched it since purchasing a Fuji X100. If you’re a person who is interested in full frame for the image quality, and if the drawbacks of an APS-C mirrorless don’t apply to your needs and usage, why not compare them? Saving some money and getting a more compact camera is very appealing.
I can tell you that the NEX-7 is definitely making me lose interest in saving for a Leica M9.
Sure, for hobby stuff if you don’t want to carry around a full dslr. But nobody will be shooting a wedding with a NEX.
The 5n doesn’t compete with the 5D2 in image quality, thin DOF or lens selection.
Why aren’t these review sites comparing to cameras which actually COMPETE against the NEX – like panasonic and olympus mirrorless, plus point and shoots, compacts etc within the same price range?
It still seems ridiculous to compare the NEX against a £2000 full frame dSLR. And even more ridiculous to be surprised when it comes up worse off!
I’m not sure if you’re trolling, but I’ll try to explain anyway.
“Sure, for hobby stuff if you don’t want to carry around a full dslr. But nobody will be shooting a wedding with a NEX.”
Yes, because weddings are the only professional use for a camera. That said, why couldn’t you use a NEX? I’ve seen people shooting weddings with nothing but a Canon Rebel and a 18-55 kit lens. Believe it or not, wedding photography did exist before the 5DII was invented. Heck, they even had weddings before digital cameras, and when ISO 100 film was considered fast!
“The 5n doesn’t compete with the 5D2 in image quality, thin DOF or lens selection.”
Why wouldn’t it compete? It’s a much newer sensor. Have a look:
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/737|0/(brand)/Sony/(appareil2)/483|0/(brand2)/Canon
According to their tests, it’s reasonably close.
Thin DOF? Sure, if you care about that – not everybody does. Like I said, APS-C has some drawbacks, but if these drawbacks don’t matter to you, it’s worth consideration.
Lens selection? You and mount just about any lens ever made on a NEX, can’t say the same about a DSLR.
“Why aren’t these review sites comparing to cameras which actually COMPETE against the NEX – like panasonic and olympus mirrorless, plus point and shoots, compacts etc within the same price range?”
You’re obviously not looking very hard.
“It still seems ridiculous to compare the NEX against a £2000 full frame dSLR. And even more ridiculous to be surprised when it comes up worse off!”
First, £1500 is probably more accurate, if I convert B&H’s prices to your moon money. But why is it more ridiculous if it comes up worse? The point is that the marginal performance gain of the 5DII may not be worth the huge increase in cost.
To bring out Colin’s points:
1. NEX 5N and NEX 7 is treading on the line between hobbyists, amateurs, and pros. NEX 5N sensor is not to be laughed at, so people are experimenting with it. After all, your ‘full DSLR’ has only been around for so many decades. Would you laugh at a Leica user taking wedding photographs? Not the same as a 5N, but size wise can you differentiate them from the other end of the ballroom?
2. It doesn’t compete in terms of brand and pride. Numbers and money speaks for the quality. Lens selection.. That’s like the candy-on-top for every Canikon fanboy’s comments.. Yes, Sony sucks with their lens selection, but remember that Canikon has been in the market longer than Sony. How do you compare Canon/Nikon vs Minolta+Sony’s lens selection? (Combine Minolta and Sony’s selection)
3. On review sites comparing to m4/3 – yeah, people compared them even BEFORE their release. Now that 5N is released, well, time to compare it to something _new_ or weird in that sense.
4. Yes it is ridiculous. So if the price differs by <$1000, but quality differs by ~$500, would it be ridiculous also? It's a wake up call for people to stop clinging to history and start looking at innovation.
These kind of discussion, with good enough replies, may wake enough some people 🙂
5N may never match up with Mark II – how about NEX 7? how about releases 5 years later? If you can save $1000 for a $100 worse quality, what is that?
I had a $4000 gaming laptop. Now I have a $1000 gaming laptop – and I'm more than satisfied with it. I'm a sucker for innovation.
@Colin:
I’m not trolling at all. I’m a Sony shooter (850 + zeiss and 580 plus a few DT lenses) and I think the NEX is a great camera. I just think the comparisons and expectations being put onto it are ridiculous. Comparing it to a 5d2 is silly.
1) Wedding was an example. And I’ve seen a lot of SAR posters whining about a77 high ISO saying they need it for weddings. I therefore used weddings as an example. Would a complete list of all possible uses for a camera have sufficed?
2) Yes people *DO* shoot a wedding with an XT and kit lens, but you really shouldn’t. I don’t know of any GOOD photographers who do. Sure, you might scour the internet and find one or two examples to prove me wrong, but the majority of well-known are using top end full frame cameras.
3) I’ve seen the DxOMark, yes. And while impressive it still doesn’t stand up to a 5d2 for some applications. Thin DOF doesn’t matter to everyone, and APS-C can be a positive if you want more DOF without a smaller aperture, but it’s a limitation of APS-C sensors.. especially when you only have slower lenses for the NEX too.
4) You can mount lots of lenses, but only manual focus. Hardly a replacement for a dSLR with good autofocus (maybe not a 5d2 then, hehe). Sounds to me more like a hobbyist activity than a professional one. With the adapter for alpha lenses it sounds like a better bet, but you’ve just spent more money and increased the size.. might have well have just bought an a55.
And before I get a history lesson, yes I know people used to use manual focus cameras, thanks.
5) I keep seeing on SAR these reviews comparing the 5N against competition which costs 3x more. Instead of accusing me of being a Canikon (urgh that term is awful) fanboy, you might see that my statement might actually be defending the NEX. It should be compared like-for-like against the same price point and the same type of consumer. It will handily beat a 4/3 or other mirrorless, but now we’re comparing to full frame dSLRs with two control wheels, phase autofocus etc.. THAT is what I am calling ridiculous.
And fwiw, the UK is always more expensive than the US for electronics. The lowest 5d2 price I can find in the UK is now £1549, and the NEX5N is £549 body only.. so 3x the price. I would also suggest that it is your currency which is becoming worthless but that’s another topic 😉
Thanks acolyte for having his back. I’m sure he really appreciated your backup!
1) I didn’t laugh at the sensor. It’s great, but everything else I mentioned above – viewfinder, handling, autofocus.. they don’t replace a full frame professional level dSLR.
2) Again, I’m not a fanboy. The alpha lineup is fine, but the NEX lineup is very poor at the moment. I wouldn’t throw out my a850 and switch to NEX just yet, and I would call a comparison between the a850 and 5N just as stupid.
3) Maybe sites do it just to increase readership or add controversy or whatever. But this isn’t the first time I’ve seen 5N vs 5D, which is why I called it out.
4) I’m not against innovation, but image quality isn’t the only factor. As I’ve said about 3x now, the handling of cameras is different and I can see the NEX being a great 2nd camera, but I doubt many pros will be throwing out their dslrs for it right yet.
The NEX7 looks more competitive with a “proper” dSLR – and the pricetag matches too. You could spend your £1000 on a NEX7 or a dSLR, but
And again, instead of so viciously defending Sony and accusing people of being a fanboy, maybe you can see that not all arguments are manufacturer based. Really I’m criticising these daft review sites making stupid comparisons. I seem to remember the first a77 review compare the ISO against a d3s and a pentax medium format? I called that stupid too… You’re just as bad as the Canon and Nikon trolls in the way you jump down the throat of anyone who says anything remotely critical of Sony.
Meh I’m not trying to back up or defend or anything – you’re right on the controversy part, and that’s exactly it. But you know, as much as SAR is a rumors site, rumors don’t come in everyday, so now and then admin just links these comparisons. It may rank down there on the SAR post quality, but hey, nothing to be hostile about o_O
Silly is silly – I agree, but what else is better to fill the time?
Oh – and if you read my comments – I don’t jump on fanboy’s throat even. If replying to their posts are not worth it, I ignore them.
I’m more sensitive towards mindless comments – and note that I’m bringing out Colin’s points, but I’m not directly against you – in fact, I agree on your original post. I don’t agree on your ‘why are they not comparing similar cameras’ 🙂 The rest sounds okay to me XD
And that ‘nobody will be shooting a wedding with NEX’ – YUP I completely agree! At least for the first 1-2 years of NEX. I’ll comment you back in another year or two when NEX got its foot solid 🙂 I’ll remove my troll reference in my previous post 😛
Mind that, I still believe NEX & m4/3 can be more worth the portability and sufficient power than FFs 🙂 And the laptops that I was comparing were m11x (R1, from march last year) and Dell XPS Gen 2 (it was a 4kg 17″ laptop from 6 years ago). If you’re in the market for portable gaming/multimedia laptops, check them out [sorry for advertising] I am a believer in portability now 🙂
Haha, I just carried a850 and zeiss 16-35 over south america at high altitude. Trust me, I’ll buy that portability argument when it’s ready!
Colin, what you describe seems to be the reaction of gear heads. If you own a 5D because of what it is and what it can do, a Fuji X100 is not going to be a replacement. A compliment certainly, just not a replacement.
Same for your comment about the NEX-7 and M9. If you consider the NEX-7 a viable alternative, then I think the M9 was never a serious option.
I mean that respectfully. The 5D, X100, NEX-7 and M9 are all great cameras within their own right, but it’s apples and oranges. I would consider any of those for completely different reasons. Take the M9. I would consider the M9 if I could afford one. (Well I can afford one, but my priorities are different.) The cheaper alternative I am considering is an M2. The NEX-7 is a nice option, but it’s simply not a rangefinder. Although I admit it might come close using a Zeiss ZM lens and focus peaking through the viewfinder (if possible), but that is still a Frankenstein solution and I wonder if it would work well.
The comparison is to show how much value you actually get with the NEX.
What Vlad said. Admin is just having harmless fun, linking interesting reviews.
Maybe 90% of photographers wouldn’t care, but it’s fun just to see things right? If you don’t like your Mark II being compared to NEX, then hang out in dpreview.com 🙂
I own a 5DMKII and it makes a great reference point. Will the 5n replace the 5D? Not. But it will displace it!
more about comparisons?, should have more about the repair that gets as Sony NEX-5N affected by the “click” .. as remaining after the repair, whether it’s worth it .. video evidence, and if all goes well with respect to other cualidadesde the camera to see if there are no side effects at the time of repair
In one of the comments someone mentioned – after a _firmware_ fix (not just the lubrication, the click sound is completely gone. Throw a question at one of the forums (dpreview/dyxum) – someone who ACTUALLY has the camera may answer your question (oh, admin also has one too.. So you can bug him too 🙂 )
it is true that many people say that after lubricating the “click” is gone completely, but some tests show no video nor how they are running after the camera .. besides that not much is known about this supposed “firmware” that also solved the problem of “click”, and I say alleged because the problem is physical ..
How about this? Though I’d prefer the guy talk a bit to compare his voice volume /w the clicking sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygvdak6jVIA
Is there any clicking prior to the circular movement? I hear a bit of noise before that, but it sounds more like typing rather than the clicking I have heard in various videos.
have improved a lot .. you can hear a little at the end of the video, but almost nothing .. great! .. but how long that lubrication and if you are having side effects
The NEX 5n can’t be considered a professional STILL camera because you can’t use a Pocket Wizard to trigger Studio Flash . But it is an excellent VIDEO camera. Would I choose it over a Canon 5DMkII??? Yes, I already have.
If the NEX 7 is as good as it seems, it will replace my Canon DSLRs for most of my STILL work. Having a Hot Shoe makes it possible.
thats a lot of paper waste just to dry your hands, dude!
andrea!
i’m not sure if anyone has posted this video here before, but this is a great one done with the nex-5n.
http://www.quadrocopter.us/2011/10/07/cinestar-6-and-nex-5n/