M8 sharper than Nex 5n below 1/40 of a second!!!!

[eleskin]

I may be my imagination but I just tested my M8 against my Nex 5n with the 35mm f1.2 Nokton at 1/30th shutter speed and am noticing that the M8 produces images that are sharper than the Nex 5n. It seems the NEX is blurring the photos more due to motion. The funny thing is I am holding the NEX the same way I am holding the M8 (forming a human tripod with my face and arms and leaning on my desk). The M8 is giving me sharper photos in these conditions. I suspect Leica did a much better job reducing vibration in the camera body than Sony did. That is the only thing I can come up with. Yes, the NEX has better high ISO but if you go below 1/40th you can be in trouble with M glass. Anyone else find a similar problem?

I know one thing, If Leica adds live view and superior high ISO and it behaves like my M8 as far as not blurring below 1/40th, it will be a superior camera!

Don't get me wrong. The Nex 5n complements the M8 very well, especially when I want another way to focus my M lenses (Using live view with a Noctilux is amazing, I love to see for sure that I nailed the focus, and the NEX is great for that along with the high ISO), but it is not an M digital replacement. There is just something about the feel of an M8 (M9 too!!!) and how it behaves (as illustrated by my concerns above). I guess If I bought the stabilized lenses it would be another story, but I use M lenses and that issue is a non starter.

 

[jaapv]

The M8/9 is much more dense and solid than a NEX, thus balances much better.
And, of course, if you stick a red dot on the NEX it will improve your photographs no end...😛

 

[SDK]

Rangefinder focusing accuracy is probably much better for wideangle lenses than using an LCD screen, and a lens in focus will be much sharper than the same lens slightly out of focus.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Is it motion blur, or the anti-aliasing filter?

The M8 images are very crisp, even sharper than the M9. The lack of AA filter and thinner IR absorbing filter of the M8 have advantages.

 

[Pablito]

Rangefinder focusing accuracy is probably much better for wideangle lenses than using an LCD screen, and a lens in focus will be much sharper than the same lens slightly out of focus.

Not at all. The NEX with the 14x manual focusing magnification is far more accurate than any RF, especially wide open.

The original post seems very subjective. A more useful test (maybe) would involve a sturdy tripod.

 

[jaapv]

Not really, as the OP is talking about hand-held shooting.🙄

 

[dreilly]

The AA filter on the nex-5n is supposed to be pretty light. That would make a subtle difference but I doubt it's what the OP is experiencing.

Won't a higher resolution sensor (like that in the 5n) show motion blur a bit more readily since it's resolving finer detail (in which case, at the pixel level, the image is magnified.) Just as shooting with a longer lens will magnify shake as well?

 

[jsrockit]

My M8 and M9 are the most prone to camera shake of all of my cameras... which hasn't been the case for Leica film cameras.

 

[cosmonaut]

Considering the price difference between the two you should expect shaper more detailed images with a M8.

 

[LCT]

Nex files need more sharpening than M8's for sure but this is not linked with shutter speed i guess. Which mechanical parts would generate vibrations in the Sony?

 

[jaapv]

My M8 and M9 are the most prone to camera shake of all of my cameras... which hasn't been the case for Leica film cameras.

I fin that strange, I shoot them down to 1/4of a sec without any problem with occasional forays into even slower speeds. Can it be that you are noticing that a sensor is more critical than film?

 

[Jockos]

Nex files need more sharpening than M8's for sure but this is not linked with shutter speed i guess. Which mechanical parts would generate vibrations in the Sony?

I have the NEX 3, so I'm not sure about the 5👎, and the shutter button isn't very good, which makes me at least move the camera slightly while pressing.
Also, because of the EVIL (we still call them that?) design, the camera is not held as close to the body, making you more prone to shake.

 

[LCT]

...because of the EVIL (we still call them that?) design, the camera is not held as close to the body, making you more prone to shake.

Ah yes thanks i did not think of this. Do you mean with the EVF on?

 

[LCT]

My M8 and M9 are the most prone to camera shake of all of my cameras... which hasn't been the case for Leica film cameras.

I don't know for the M9 but the shutter release of my M8.2 feels less notchy than that of the M8 i've tested in 2006 or 2007. It is not as smooth as those of my film Ms though, by far. This somewhat squeaky feeling and the hard stop before the actual release point might explain some specific shaking i guess even if i shoot easily down to 1/6s personally. At 1/4s and below my hands begin to tremble anyway so i don't know to which extent camera shake can be the culprit actually.

 

[ssmc]

Apart from the obvious answer - that the M8's extra weight gives it more inertia relative to the shutter motion compared to the NEX-5n, I like Jockos' idea. Maybe you could try this experiment again with the M8 held away from your body as you would hold the NEX and see what happens? It will probably still be better but I wouldn't be surprised if bracing the camera against your face while looking through the VF makes quite a bit of difference.

Scott

 

[Teuthida]

Completely the opposite of my experience. I find it much easier to hand hold the 5n at slow speeds than I do the m8. And the image detail from the 5n files is IMHO better than that of the m8.

 

[Alberti]

My M8 and M9 are the most prone to camera shake of all of my cameras... which hasn't been the case for Leica film cameras.

I noticed the same (for years).
I have a suspicion that the shutter is enabled [sometimes from hibernation] while the power was not built up fully yet; the negative tells the requested speed say 1/125 sec- but in actual blurs the subject shows sometimes longer exposure like 1/10 sec. Then a person in the picture has a blur from walking.

This idea was confirmed when shooting with auto iso, sometimes this pops up to very high levels for no reason (other than being half-asleep).

Anyway, I now wait a second or so between activation before pressing the shutter all down.
albert

 

[jaapv]

That is not normal behaviour for the camera. I would it have checked in Solms if I were you.

 

[L. M. Tu]

I agree that it might be more difficult to get sharp photographs with the NEX than with traditional types of cameras, at least when shooting free hand, to borrow a gun shooter's expression. When I got my NEX-5, I realized that it required me to use different techniques than I ever had with other cameras.
Number one, holding the camera at arm's length, or nearly so, definitely causes more motion blur during exposure. So bracing rangefinders and SLRs against my face did help to produce sharp pictures. No surprise there.
Secondly, the camera's minimal size and weight also make it feel as if there is more vibration from the shutter, or less dampening thereof. I have a relatively very small and light DSLR, a Nikon D40, and I feel much less shutter vibration from it, compared to the NEX.
Finally, focusing accuracy is absolutely critical. The focusing magnifying feature, along with focus peaking, help a lot to get the focus just right if all one has to look at is the live view on the LCD.
With adapted manual-focus lenses, I'm thinking that the old rule that the fastest hand-held shutter speed needs to be the inverse of the focal length should be modified to read: twice the focal length, in the case of the NEX. Of course, age, eyesight, physical condition, the number of beers or cups of coffee one has ingested, etc., all that should be considered too. 🙂

 

[semordnilap]

With the nex, try a not too long neckstrap and when using the screen pull the camera away from you. I use this technique for video as well and it works well to keep things more stable.