Steve Huff - GXR vs NEX-7

[Teuthida]

I had an NEX 5 in my hands. It weighs about 0 0z's. cheap plastic.

I think you're confusing magnesium and its light weight with plastic. My 5n is well put together, and with the kit lens, has a nice heft.

 

[BMacW]

Maybe this has been posted somewhere.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sportsphotorob/6232343310/in/photostream/

 

[Peter^]

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony_nex_7_first_impressions.shtml

This is one of the best review sites on the web (although not everyone gets to be pleased here) with a history and reputation for concise and careful revie methods. This NEX7 review is of a pre-prod specimen and since 'LL' has placed reviews of all the NEX models so far we can be sure that a detailed NEX7 review of a production camera will follow.

This is getting too confusing for me. So the 24 mm Leica seems to blur both in the center as well as at the edge, at least until you stop down to about f8. Does that make any sense at all?

So what's the RFF combined wisdom? Is this only a problem with wide lenses? Or will there also be an issue with normals and teles as well?

 

[Adanac]

This is getting too confusing for me. So the 24 mm Leica seems to blur both in the center as well as at the edge, at least until you stop down to about f8. Does that make any sense at all?

Reichmann has allowed that the awful representation in that shot may be a result of his own error and has said he'd redo the comparison. I'd hoped he'd have done that by now.

Hey, maybe the NEX-7 is just crap with RF lenses. Its not like shot after stunning shot has been presented by the anointed few who received pre-release cameras for evaluation.

I hope that's not the case, since on paper it has a lot going for it. But I'd be lying if I didn't fear this is the case given the total absence of *wow* shots presented over the past 60 days that the camera has been making the rounds. Surely someone could have done a killer squirrel shot by now.

 

[uhoh7]

This was an interesting post at DP
"Here is the story, true - but unofficial.

Sony has produced some 200,000 plus units of the NEX-7.

The question being considered is wether or not to release these now and then have a six-seven month drought of cameras (yes it will bethat long until the new factories are sup to speed and spitting out units) or to wait and release the camera when there is sufficient supply to keep the chain moving.

There are pros and cons with each scenario. However, I believe they are going to release the units that they have. The next question is in what allocations? What does Sony sell themselves? What about Amazon, B&H Photo, etc.? This is the really tough one as they can't be seen as selling them all themselves, their resellers would lynch them.

The decision will be made this week as t will take about a week to move units from warehouse to supply chain, should they be moving.

That's the story folks. Just hang on and we should know what is going on by the beginning of next week. Anything that you have received with dates is up in the air at the moment, so count on nothing and pray for it all."
Peter Sills
http://digitalfocus.net/about

He shot the conventions for the DNC so maybe he has the connections 😉

 

[rxmd]

"Here is the story, true - but unofficial.

Sony has produced some 200,000 plus units of the NEX-7.

The question being considered is wether or not to release these now and then have a six-seven month drought of cameras (yes it will bethat long until the new factories are sup to speed and spitting out units) or to wait and release the camera when there is sufficient supply to keep the chain moving. [...]"

The obvious solution to that is to release them now at a trickle and at a $50 premium, turning them into the coveted camera product of the day and earning an extra $10 million for free.

 

[Adanac]

I saw that 200,000 number being bandied about. The flooded factory apparently was producing 200,000 Alpha and NEX cameras a month at peak production, whenever that was, but what mix who knows.

Today there was a poster disputing the two hundred thousand figure as marketing fluff, claiming it'd be too large relative to Sony's annual camera production. Fujifilm's own marketing fluff claimed 70 to 100 thousand X100s produced and sold into the channel; if those numbers are true Sony's number doesn't sound outrageous although they were not able to produce the product for the home / Asian markets.

I wonder what the total production run was supposed to have been before flooding cut everything short?

 

[j j]

This was an interesting post at DP

There's a first time for everything, I suppose.

 

[jsrockit]

I saw that 200,000 number being bandied about. The flooded factory apparently was producing 200,000 Alpha and NEX cameras a month at peak production, whenever that was, but what mix who knows.

Today there was a poster disputing the two hundred thousand figure as marketing fluff, claiming it'd be too large relative to Sony's annual camera production. Fujifilm's own marketing fluff claimed 70 to 100 thousand X100s produced and sold into the channel; if those numbers are true Sony's number doesn't sound outrageous although they were not able to produce the product for the home / Asian markets.

I wonder what the total production run was supposed to have been before flooding cut everything short?

Damn, 200,000 cameras is a lot. Do they expect to sell that many in 6 months? How many DSLRs do they sell in half a year?

 

[uhoh7]

Got this just a minute ago:
Thank you for your recent Sony purchase.
We would like to inform you we are experiencing a delay with your Sony order. The following item NEX7/B has been rescheduled to ship on 11/11/2011.
Tracking information will be sent via email once your order ships. This number will also be available within the order history in your Sony Account. If you are unable to continue waiting we encourage you to visit our website or call 1-866-337-7669 to work with a Sony sales representative to find an alternative product that will meet your needs.

 

[jsrockit]

11/11/11 isn't bad at all.

 

[Hatch]

Well just back from shooting a few shots with the NEX 7.
My "dealer" had one on demo.

Sadly I couldn't use my own memory card so no testshots to upload.

Well....
It's everything I want in a digital camera except for the EVF.
For my taste that EVF a bit on the small side.
And it lags a teeny bit.
So it's not a window to the world.
It's more like looking through an aquarium.

Is it a dealbreaker?
Not for me.
At last with the diopter correction I can see what I'm shooting without any distractions.
In bright sunshine it's great.
The peaking works a treat beacuse through the viewfinder I find I have the added bonus of being able to see the focuspoints shifting. So i can pinpoint it exactly.

If there's a magnifying eyepiece out there that fits that would be wonderful.

Sadly according to the shop it won't be available until january at the soonest.

But I'm definitely going to buy one.

 

[dreilly]

Does anyone know why DPreview hasn't weighed in on the GXR M module? They were quick with a preview and it's been months! I think they did this with the E-5...took forever. Though with its own problems their reviews are a bit more thorough and rigorous than Mr. Huff's.

 

[Adanac]

Got this just a minute ago:
Thank you for your recent Sony purchase.
We would like to inform you we are experiencing a delay with your Sony order. The following item NEX7/B has been rescheduled to ship on 11/11/2011.

You'd think they would not allow an automated system to send out notices like that, at this late date, without actually having had the system approved to do so. Guess you are getting a camera after all!

Ok uhoh7, you realize that if this ships as promised you need to take up the banner and get a flat field test for wide angle rangefinder lens distortion asap. 😉

It'd be nice if you could do that before they ship mine the following week. Still no word from Sony Canada on that as yet.

Hop to it!

 

[uhoh7]

Ok uhoh7, you realize that if this ships as promised you need to take up the banner and get a flat field test for wide angle rangefinder lens distortion asap. 😉

It'd be nice if you could do that before they ship mine the following week. Still no word from Sony Canada on that as yet.

Hop to it!

The downside of complaining is that on occasion, those responsible will say: OK Charlie, you are now in charge. Gulp.

I once had to be in charge of certification for ski instructors in our region for this very reason.

On second thought, Huff's review is fantastic!

Seriously, one pain will be dealing with the files--no support in LR yet.

Ok Ok, now who is sending me their 5n?

More seriously, who has a 5n and either a CV 21, 28 or 35? Preferably a 21 I guess. PM me and we'll agree on what sort of shots to take.

The only thing I can do now is tell if its worse than the old nex-5 🙁

 

[douglasf13]

Uhoh7, FWIW, I did a CornerFix color shift profile for my ZM 35/2, and it shows less color shift on my newly acquired 5N than on my 5. I have to wait to do corner resolution tests, but quick tests are showing that the CV 15/4.5 has more sharpness falloff on the 5.

note: I was surprised to find that my ZM 35/2.8, ZM 35/2 and Contax G 35 all had varying degrees of color shift on my NEX-5 when testing for CornerFix, although I've yet to see it in actual photos.

 

[michel v]

More seriously, who has a 5n and either a CV 21, 28 or 35? Preferably a 21 I guess. PM me and we'll agree on what sort of shots to take.

The only thing I can do now is tell if its worse than the old nex-5 🙁

I have a 5N now, and a CV 28mm f3.5 (and since you didn't specify aperture: also have the f1.9, but it does no magenta — that I could notice — on either Nex 3 or Nex 5N).

The 28 does have nasty magenta on Nex 3, none on 5N here (but we haven't had nice light to test much here lately).

 

[kanzlr]

I have a 28 M-Hex on the 5N and noticed no shifts so far.

 

[douglasf13]

Hi, I set up a quick test to check out the corner differences between the NEX-5 and NEX-5N with my new CV 15/4.5. There is unfortunately a small framing difference in these, but exposure was the same (slightly regulated in LR3) with lenses set to infinity at f5.6. Cameras were mounted on my tripod with 2 second release timer and processed in LR3 with import presets. Of course, environmental things like wind could always be a factor, so, like any comparison, take these with a grain of salt, and perform your own tests to be sure. That being said, I do think that it is a pretty accurate portrayal of how the two camera bodies handle in the corners.

NEX-5 CV 15 at f5.6, ISO 200, 1/640

NEX-5N CV 15 at f5.6, ISO 200, 1/640

NEX-5 CV 15 at f5.6 Top Left 100% Crop:

NEX-5N CV 15 at f5.6 Top Left 100% Crop:

Now, here are shots through a tissue at f5.6, similar to how one makes a CornerFix profile, to show color shift difference:

NEX-5 CV 15 at infinity f5.6:

NEX-5N CV 15 at infinity f5.6:

The difference seems pretty striking to me in both color shift and resolution. What do you think?

 

[Adanac]

Clearly an improvement in the 5N; while the colour shift improvement *might* just be better software, the retention of detail in the corner speaks to an optical improvement, no?

I'm still worrying about what a similar appraisal of the NEX-7 will reveal. It won't be long now before some of us have one...