Might switch from m4/3 to NEX. Tell me yea or nay.

mabelsound said:
Perhaps I should retain the EP2 and 20mm, unload the 14mm, and pick up the NEX and 16mm.
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I've been keeping an eye on this category intently for about a year now. The "cons" of each system have been enough to keep me shooting small format film. This is mostly because I'm in no rush and want to be sure about the move (ie 35mm film to digital).

My opinion is that the Nex is currently the better system. But I'm waiting to find out if there is truth in the "pro" Nex body with built in EVF rumour. I'm also curious to see the lens line-up expand and get an idea of whether better native lenses can be made for the E-mount. Having to use adapted lenses (especially without an EVF) all the time to get results is not why I want one of these systems. And right now the two Nex lenses kinda suck.
 
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If you guys don't like your 16 mm lenses, maybe one of you wouldn't mind selling the lens to me at a damn good price,seeing they're just going to waste with you guys.
 
Just a note...

Sony Alpha rumours seems to be certain there will be a new Nex model announced in early April and that it will be available in May.
 
I only have a Pany G1/20mm but having looked at the NEX I figure it isn't there yet. If you can just wait a little while there will be some better options... the NEX files look great but the UI and bodies are for crap... I'd want a decent AF prime answer too.

Using legacy lenses is great but I want a fast prime to commit.

Right now the X100 is looking really good.
 
mabelsound said:
Just read some reviews of the 16mm, though--sounds pretty poor. Perhaps I ought to try and find a body and some adapters instead.
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Go look at the dpreview of the 16mm lens. That is about exactly like mine performs. Deadly sharp in the center, but awful in the corners at f2.8. From F5.6 on, good in the corners, except for the very most extreme couple of millimeters. I often give it a slight crop, making it closer to a 17-18mm lens, and that takes care of any corner issues when necessary.

Incredibly, the wide angle converter for the 16mm doesn't seem to reduce quality at all, so you could use that and crop slightly, as well, and get around a 20mm equivalent.

Oddly enough, the new Panasonic 14mm is actually closer to 13mm, but software crops it in camera, due to the intense barrel distortion correction.
 
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A new NEX in early April, I'm hoping this is true! And they sell body only, don't need any more lenses... plan to get an M adapter.
 
The EP-2 is a perfect camera for me.
I've taken it traveling abroad and it handles abuse (bumps, knocks, extreme humidity, temperature, and long use) with ease.

Frankly I have not yet find a body that is as well made (and one of the coolest looking, as a bonus) for what I paid and for that size. My dream is to get the 9-18mm lens and together with the Panny 20/1.7 and my Zuiko lenses, I have all I want in small package digital camera.

And don't forget that Olympus is going to release a couple of prime lenses, if the rumor mills are to be considered.

As for image quality, to be honest, I'm at the position where they are all digital images. You can do whatever you want with those that suit your style and your preference.

Good photographs are not always the cleanest, and super-high-iso performance is but a mere factor in a set of many others *in real life, not on paper*. Can those who praise the NEX for its high-iso performance really compare it with that of a D700 or D3? I don't think so. So who really cares? it's all subjective.

If I may repeat a sane advice given to me once: It's better to do a photo project than chasing the pot of gear at the end of the rainbow.
 
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It isn't so much the ISO performance of the NEX that sets it apart, but, rather, the dynamic range, and it does certainly compete with the D700/D3 in this regard at lower ISOs. You're gaining a solid 1.5-2 stops of DR with the D700/NEX over m4/3 at lower ISOs.

Regardless, as was mentioned earlier, it is the 1.5x vs. 2.0x crop factor that really made the difference for me in choosing NEX for legacy rangefinder lenses, and the NEX-5 build is very solid.
 
mabelsound said:
Just read some reviews of the 16mm, though--sounds pretty poor. Perhaps I ought to try and find a body and some adapters instead.
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That's what I have done (got a Nex-3 body-only) and a bunch of adapters.

It's absolutely great. I still shoot with my three Leica M bodies, but now I also alternate those lenses on the Nex. The SLR primes are great, too. I favor the old Minolta MC Rokkors.
 
I'm enjoying my Oly E-PL1 w/ the Pany 20/1.7 lens and legacy glass too. Am using the EVF which is great. I looked at the NEX, but decided it wasn't for me. The Oly works brilliantly as a second body to a Leica M. I use the Oly for indoors/low light/color, and happily shoot my Leica film cams w/ slower lenses and b&w. The fact that a 50 becomes a 100 on an m4/3d body is not a problem; it means my 50 lenses can do double duty, and I don't have to carry a separate 100 lens. I am thinking seriously about the Pany 14mm lens, since I like the 28mm focal length indoors.
 
I never seem to use the EVF for the E-P2, even though it works beautifully. It turns the camera into a giant cube, basically, especially if I'm using a longish lens...it takes up FAR more space in a bag than a DSLR. With the pancakes, the EVF is fine, maintaining the thin profile, but I don't really need it for autofocus lenses.

I really want a built-in EVF, and I'm really surprised Oly hasn't ponied one up yet.
 
mabelsound said:
I never seem to use the EVF for the E-P2, even though it works beautifully. It turns the camera into a giant cube, basically, especially if I'm using a longish lens...it takes up FAR more space in a bag than a DSLR. With the pancakes, the EVF is fine, maintaining the thin profile, but I don't really need it for autofocus lenses.

I really want a built-in EVF, and I'm really surprised Oly hasn't ponied one up yet.
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So NEX has built in EVF?
 
shadowfox said:
So NEX has built in EVF?
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No. Just a rear screen. You can flip the screen up and look down into it, like a latter-day TLR, or you can chimp with the NEX a comfortable viewing distance from your face, or you can install an aftermarket loupe and use it like a DSLR. All of the above are probably more important if you are not using the NEX lenses. I use so-called legacy glass with adapters so manual focus aids are important.


Ben
 
My ep-1 is always getting bumped and changed to the wrong settings. I think a touch screen that can be locked out might be better. Is the NEX screen "lockable"?
 
Gary Sandhu said:
My ep-1 is always getting bumped and changed to the wrong settings. I think a touch screen that can be locked out might be better. Is the NEX screen "lockable"?
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The NEX doesn't have a touchscreen. It has three softbuttons which correspond to info on the screen, and two of them are user programmable.
 
Phantomas said:

New ways of shooting = you know what, I don't even want a viewfinder on NEX. That's because after one evening with it I realised how differently I shoot, from different angles and possitions, thanks to articulated LCD.
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I am just curious: wouldn't it be the same thing as, when shooting portrait of a person using TLR, you always are below his eye level (unless he is sitting)?
How can you overcome this issue?
 
Are you hurry?
New NEX is coming soon, M-modul for Ricoh is not so far, Nikon prepares its own mirorless system, panasonic could make us a surprise within 6 months…
And what about a interchangeable lens Fuji X-200, or anything else?
IMHO it's urgent to wait.
 
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