Let's hear your opinion on.....

[Godfrey]

the Sony NEX5, the Pano GF1 and the Oly EP2. Knowing what you know now, which would you buy? Some of you have owned all three, so if you could only pick one, which one would it be?

Having borrowed the GF1 for a few days and used it without the EVF, I'd have to say that given the choice I'd go for the E-P2 due to its high quality EVF. There are things I like about the GF1 more than the E-P2 with regard to control layout, but the E-P2's higher quality EVF combined with it's support of the FourThirds SLR teleconverters trumps those minor annoyances of the control layout.

(When all is said and done, amongst Micro-FourThirds bodies I still prefer the G1/G2 more than the others however.)

I have no interest in the NEX cameras at all for the present.

 

[Amin]

I know this wasn't a choice, but if I were to choose again, it would be the Panasonic GH1 again. An integrated EVF is important to me. If Sony comes out with a model with an integrated EVF, I will pick one up. There seems to be good potential there from a sensor and mount design standpoint, and I think I'd enjoy using it with the 16mm f/2.8 lens.

 

[barjohn]

I was out shooting yesterday trying out zone focus and street shooting with the NEX and the Leica 40/2 lens and I have to say the easily viewable screen set to daylight mode and its tilt worked better than the EVF on the Ricoh GXR. First I could shoot with it from the waist and it is so small it is really unobtrusive and quite a stealth camera. Second, it was easy to set the zone using the markings on the lens and good depth of field and easy to see what I was shooting. When I wanted to focus the 14x magnification made it a piece of cake. It was very bright and sunny at the beach (Balboa Island,CA) and great fun to use and shooting panos was awesome. A pano is shown below.

 

[Vivek]

I was wondering why the Pana G1 is so much superior to the Sony NEX when it comes to manual focusing (magnification, especially).

Even the 7X of Sony is more than enough but is slower than the Pana because the Sony rectangle is very small. It takes forever to move that from top left corner (where it is in my cam) to other places.

Compared to that, the Pana is ~3-5 times faster.

Sony should update the FW to give an option of larger rectangle sizes (having a one button access to ISO also would make the NEX useful).

 

[sebboh]

I was wondering why the Pana G1 is so much superior to the Sony NEX when it comes to manual focusing (magnification, especially).

Even the 7X of Sony is more than enough but is slower than the Pana because the Sony rectangle is very small. It takes forever to move that from top left corner (where it is in my cam) to other places.

Compared to that, the Pana is ~3-5 times faster.

Sony should update the FW to give an option of larger rectangle sizes (having a one button access to ISO also would make the NEX useful).

as far as a manual focus firmware upgrade goes, what i would like is for the option of the magnification only occurring in the center of the screen so the edges are still visible for composition. i believe the leica X1 has this to mimic the rangefinder experience a bit. it would make composing and focusing much more fluid i suspect.

 

[Vivek]

Well Panasonic (G1) does that even better. The rectangle shows up in the middle. One can use it as is (quickly) or move it and enlarge (better albeit a tad slower).:thumbs:

 

[sebboh]

Well Panasonic (G1) does that even better. The rectangle shows up in the middle. One can use it as is (quickly) or move it and enlarge (better albeit a tad slower).:thumbs:

but the G1 magnifies the whole screen meaning i need to exit magnification to take the shot, for me this is only a tiny bit better. everybody works differently though.

 

[Terry]

Vivek you can easily move (not enlarge but shrink a bit) the spot by using the flexible focus option. Turn off the hints menu and the bottom button with the kit lens then becomes focus and you just move the spot. With manual focus adapted lenses that option is already right on the screen.

 

[barjohn]

I find the manual focus on the NEX superior to the Pany G1, GF1, the Oly EP-1 and the Ricoh GXR A12. The choice between 7X and 14X is perfect and it seems to remember your preference. I must be missing something as I find it fast whether I am using a manual lens or one of the Sony lenses and want to tweak AF.

 

[Vivek]

Terry,

I do not speak Sony language. There is no "hints menu" as far as I can see.

I do not know how to turn that off with the 16/2.8.

Yes, with manual focus lenses, that ("shooting tips") button becomes "manual assist". The spot starts at the top left corner and not in the middle.

At one point, "face recognition" kicked in when using manual focus lens and that was useful. I can't make that work again and I have no idea where to look to activate it either.

 

[Terry]

Vivek -
Setup -> mf asst is on, help guide display off
Camera -> (with kit lens attached) auto focus area - flexible spot

Now bottom button will say focus. Press it and move the box where you want it.
Focus box will remain where you had it shot to shot.
With Sony lenses just as fast as G's

 

[Vivek]

Terry,

Had everything set that way, EXCEPT the "flexible spot" thingy.

Did that.

Now the rectangle shows in the center as I would like it to.

Thanks!:salute:

 

[jonoslack]

Terry,

Had everything set that way, EXCEPT the "flexible spot" thingy.

Did that.

Now the rectangle shows in the center as I would like it to.

Thanks!:salute:

See what I mean about Terry having a brain the size of a planet?

 

[dhsimmonds]

well, okay, but if you're going to use a 500mm lens . . . . . why not use it on the A900 (or it's successor)?

It was a figurative description only of how I might hold the lens rather than the camera itself Jono! It would be more of a haystack on a pimple rather than a pimple on a haystack!:ROTFL: It would make a nice 750mm lens combo though.

Seriously though, It could make a useful back-up for my A900 kit should the latter decide to die on me far from home. It's small enough to hide in my bag of lenses and other detrious but with the added fun element of trying quality lenses via a suitable adaptor or two.

Son in law has just bought one and is liking it in preference to his Pana G2. He particularly likes the increase in DR and higher ISO performance over the m4/3ds. I hope to handle it soon, before daring to enter LCE!:

 

[jonoslack]

Seriously though, It could make a useful back-up for my A900 kit should the latter decide to die on me far from home. It's small enough to hide in my bag of lenses and other detrious but with the added fun element of trying quality lenses via a suitable adaptor or two.

The more I see the more I'm getting tempted as well. But this time I'm not buying anything until it's supported by Aperture (so I could have a long wait )

 

[monza]

I was out shooting yesterday trying out zone focus and street shooting with the NEX and the Leica 40/2 lens and I have to say the easily viewable screen set to daylight mode and its tilt worked better than the EVF on the Ricoh GXR. First I could shoot with it from the waist and it is so small it is really unobtrusive and quite a stealth camera. Second, it was easy to set the zone using the markings on the lens and good depth of field and easy to see what I was shooting. When I wanted to focus the 14x magnification made it a piece of cake. It was very bright and sunny at the beach (Balboa Island,CA) and great fun to use and shooting panos was awesome. A pano is shown below.

This mirrors my experience, LCD plenty bright, great stealth cam. Very easy to take discreet photos with the flip LCD. Flash is excellent for daylight fill. Panos are quite fun, although the machine gun shutter isn't particularly quiet.

 

[Terry]

Seriously though, It could make a useful back-up for my A900 kit should the latter decide to die on me far from home. It's small enough to hide in my bag of lenses and other detrious but with the added fun element of trying quality lenses via a suitable adaptor or two.

It IS my A900 backup. Previously I had no backup and carried a full m4/3 system as the backup. The A mount adapter is solid as a rock and holds my big Zeiss lenses without issue (because of the outstanding implementation of the removable tripod foot).

 

[Vivek]

See what I mean about Terry having a brain the size of a planet?

While I am thankful to Terry for the quick answer to fix the problem, if one needs a brain the size of a planet to navigate NEX' menu, what does that say about it (NEX)?

 

[Vivek]

This mirrors my experience, LCD plenty bright, great stealth cam. Very easy to take discreet photos with the flip LCD. Flash is excellent for daylight fill. Panos are quite fun, although the machine gun shutter isn't particularly quiet.

"Stealth cam" with a "machine gun" shutter? :ROTFL:

 

[tom in mpls]

Terry, just for fun, how about a picture of the NEX compared to the iPhone?