NEX thoughts

[Lss]

I would like to be able to set the minimum shutterspeed with autoISO on my F3, but you can't have everything...

I find this quite a serious design flaw. Aperture priority with auto-ISO would be quite usable on my NEX-5N, if I could force a higher shutter speed. But no, the user cannot be trusted to adjust such a setting.

It is a fairly useful feature for panning, though. 🙂

 

[cz23]

Shutter priority is pretty common in street photography, where you want to stop action. I often use it at 200 or 250. It's not the same as manual because the camera is adjusting aperture.

John

 

[jpfisher]

Why shutter priority? That makes it basically manual. I usually use my Nex's with legacy lenses in A-mode, let the camera decide on shutterspeed - I would like to be able to set the minimum shutterspeed with autoISO on my F3, but you can't have everything...

It just makes sense when using a lens with a manual aperture ring with a mirrorless like the 5N. I've got control over depth of field, and I can be assured the camera isn't going to try and drop down to 1/15 unexpectedly. The camera sets the ISO to get the proper exposure, and I can still dial in EV comp if a shot needs it.

The ISO performance on the NEX-5N was good enough where I didn't really have to worry about pushing to 3200 or 6400 when shooting Raw.

 

[Addy101]

Shutter priority is pretty common in street photography, where you want to stop action. I often use it at 200 or 250. It's not the same as manual because the camera is adjusting aperture.

John

My Nex F3 can control the aperture of my Minolta Rokkor lenses? 😱
The point I was making was that with legacy glass it basically is manual as you set both Speed (on camera) and Aperture (on lens).

It just makes sense when using a lens with a manual aperture ring with a mirrorless like the 5N. I've got control over depth of field, and I can be assured the camera isn't going to try and drop down to 1/15 unexpectedly. The camera sets the ISO to get the proper exposure, and I can still dial in EV comp if a shot needs it.

Aha, EV comp, didn't think of that, but it becomes ISO finetuning and M-mode doesn't have EV comp. Thank you for explaining!

 

[kxl]

I use a NEX6 when I don't want to lug around my DSLR. I like the integrated viewfinder, which was my primary reason for moving from the NEX5.

I then found a NEX3 for $100 and had that converted to IR (665nm).

The above, along with a couple of zooms (16-50 and 10-18), as well as a few M-mount lenses, pretty much meet my non-DSLR digital needs.

 

[dxq.canada]

Great feedback.
I am not going to be getting any E lenses for this ... just for my legacy lenses ... so it sounds like I can just go with any NEX that I want to afford.

... anyone want to buy any RF bodies for my NEX fund ?

 

[Dralowid]

After working out the price of an add-on EVF for an older Nex, I bought a Nex 6 which does the trick with my older lenses. The built in viewfinder makes a lot of sense.

 

[thereabouts]

The Sony menu interface is horrible.

However, I have the Nex 7. Once I set it all up as I liked it, I haven't touched the menus (other than to delete files and so on).

I love it because of the physical dials for aperture and shutter speed, which I find easier to use in manual mode than my Canon dSLR. I wouldn't bother with the a Nex system camera which didn't have those physical dials.

The viewfinder on the left of the camera is keeping in line with the rangefinder principle also. The 24mp sensor is fantastic also.

Downsides? The size of the better lenses. I have the Zeiss 24mm, which is fantastic optically. But it is huge and does make the system kind of stand out as much as a dSLR. That said, it is very comfortable to hold and focus. For manual lenses, I've found the Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 works very well for me. The Nex itself is kind of ugly to look at IMO, if that matters.

 

[Scrambler]

I have been reading these threads with interest as I too have been wanting a digital body to suit my lenses. I have decided that $1200 to $3000 is more than I want to pay for a decidedly old digital camera (R-D1 or M8) and I don't have the sort of money to need to look at an M9 or newer.

I want as large a sensor as I can get, under $1000. I don't give a fig for the autofocus as I'm going to be manual focusing anyway. I want a VF not just a rear screen.

It won't be for everyone, but I've gone for the Sony A3000. It's basically a NEX-3 turned into a pseudo-SLR out of the Sony parts bin. Low-spec fixed rear screen and EVF but the 20MP APS-C sensor out of the A58 (cheaper because it has no phase detection on board and therefore slower AF). You have to manually switch between EVF and rear screen - which works for me because I want to be able to ensure the screen is turned off.

One plus is you get a mode dial on the top deck - to make it look more SLR-like I suppose, but it also is a function you don't get in any NEX below the 6.

I have to live with only one control wheel (the multiswitch wheel on the back). Since the lenses have aperture control, and ISO is one touch away anyway, it's a compromise I can easily live with.

The largest problem, such as it is, is that there is only one programmable button and it's the bottom one on the back, so not easy to use. I've programmed MF assist magnification to it, but it's awkward to use. Again, given that the features I want are only available otherwise in a NEX 6 at 2 1/2 times the price, I can live with the compromise.

I suspect that for most at RFF the low-fidelity (apx 0.2MP) EVF and rear screens may be the real barrier.

I have decided that for by far the best sensor for the money (DxO mark scores it equal to the NEX 5/6 sensor and a little below the Nikon 3200 etc 24MP sensor) I can live with the poor viewfinders. The sensor in the A3000 performs better in DxO tests than the same sensor in the A58 - probably because it doesn't have to live behind a translucent mirror.

With kit lens this is going for around AUD$340 at present (around USD$300).

BTW it is starting to look like Sony are using a form of the Canon numbering system for the Alphas, where 1-digit numbers are best and 4-digit numbers are base model.

http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Sony/A3000

 

[Scrambler]

Also, for those who like their cameras to feel solid, look elsewhere. This is a bulbous plastic "SLR" body around the innards of a NEX-3. I am sure there is plenty of empty space inside the shell. The camera feels very light indeed. I put it in the "only a mother could love" category for looks. Conceptually this is the baby brother of the A7 but physically it has a LOT of "baby fat."

 

[kendo1]

...and I went with the Nex6. I prefer the smaller size.

On a side note, Scrambler, I lived at Cohoe Street- the gingebread house on the corner.

 

[Chris Bail]

NEX-5 on KEH right now for $165 with no lens. Throw on an adapter and start shooting....if you don't mind focusing on the back screen, the images out of that little camera are really nice.

 

[Godfrey]

I considered a NEX 6 for a while, but upon handling it I just didn't like the feel, the menus, etc. I liked the Ricoh GXR with A12 Camera Mount much more for use with Leica M-Mount lenses, and SLR lenses adapt well onto it.

Camera equipment is very personal when it comes to fit and feel.

G

 

[dxq.canada]

Yeah, Chis, I noted the prices at KEH ... I am waiting for their after Xmas dump sale (umm, assuming they do that kind of thing).

Also waiting for all those old NEX being upgraded NEX cameras (Xmas gifts) to flood the market ... there again hopeful thinking.

 

[Scrambler]

...and I went with the Nex6. I prefer the smaller size.

On a side note, Scrambler, I lived at Cohoe Street- the gingebread house on the corner.

Yeah, if the bank balance was happier I'd have gone that way, too. Everything is just that bit better and the second control wheel and extra program buttons would be nice. Plus no padding. But couldn't justify it at present.

The corner - as in the Highway corner? No wonder you moved to the other side of the world ... to escape the noise. And at present that road is like a carpark with roadworks on the Range for the last year.

 

[Shac]

Menus, menus - A) you quickly get used to them and B) how often do you have to mess around with them? Set the features to what you and and take photos😛
That's what I found