11-29-2011, 11:37 AM
Yesterday I received a Sony nex-5n and already played with it a bit. From January to March I will be shooting it beside my 5d MArk II in India. This little guy really has the potential of changing my photgraphy. Its so small and inconspicous, its almost scary. ( Except for the the silver lens, I wonder what idiot thought that cameras need to look like flashy jewelery; have to use black tape here. ). Anyways, menu and operation is very different than a dslr, but after a bit of customisation, I dont feel that it slows me down at all. Af is actuall not worse than the 5d in low light, even with the assist light tunred off . (yes, i know the 5d isnt great). In bright conditions the 5d is quite a bit faster, but the nex is already very fast and responsive,so for practical purposes, the speed difference is not relevant for me. Anybody not shooting sports or running kids, where AF-tracking is needed, should have no complaints.
The lack of an optical viewfinder may be more of an issue for me. Having tried the nex-7 at the local sony store, i decided that an evf is no replacement for an ovf. Yes, the evf on the alpha models resolves so highly that you hardly notice any pixels, but contrast and colour isnt natural at all. In addition, the tiny delay it has for adapting to different lightening conditions is enough for me to loose feeling for the scene. Thus, i decided to go cheaper for now and try the 5n first. If it stands the test I still my get the nex 7 for the control wheels. the EVf may also be helpful in very bright outdoor conditions. For now, I hope sony gets the 50mm 1.8 lens out before my departure , as adapting my canon lenses is not really a viable solution (no aperture control).
Right now I ll be doing some test prints, to see how large i can go. I-ll report back.
The lack of an optical viewfinder may be more of an issue for me. Having tried the nex-7 at the local sony store, i decided that an evf is no replacement for an ovf. Yes, the evf on the alpha models resolves so highly that you hardly notice any pixels, but contrast and colour isnt natural at all. In addition, the tiny delay it has for adapting to different lightening conditions is enough for me to loose feeling for the scene. Thus, i decided to go cheaper for now and try the 5n first. If it stands the test I still my get the nex 7 for the control wheels. the EVf may also be helpful in very bright outdoor conditions. For now, I hope sony gets the 50mm 1.8 lens out before my departure , as adapting my canon lenses is not really a viable solution (no aperture control).
Right now I ll be doing some test prints, to see how large i can go. I-ll report back.