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NEX w/o Anti-Aliasing Filter

J

Jerry_R

New member
Douglas, Others - I have update from my side.

I have made few compareable shots with M9 and NEX and am changing mind. Indeed, AA filter seems to be weaker, than usually. Maybe not so weak as in u43, but for sure more weak, than in average dSLR.

I am not presenting shots, as they were just made at night in the room, but at apertures from f/2.8 till f/11 NEX surprised me positively. Of course it is not M9 level, but is better than I thought.

Now - question could be - why I was thinking differently?
I know the answer.

Most shots I made with NEX were taken:
- on higher ISO, often 1600
- widely open

In such conditions - forced in my case by weather, light and missed hot shoe in NEX - results do not show maximum capabilities of NEX sensor.
Higher ISO eats details, like with most of cameras.
But also wide open aperture too.

What I observed is - from aperture f/2.8 to f/11 - the difference between M9 and NEX is constant.
But at f/1.4 and f/2 - M9 has bigger advantage in showing details, than NEX - and that also affected my previous way of thinking.

PS:
lenstip.com portal - also confirmed AA is weaker in NEX - maybe just 'in one direction', whatever it means.
They wrote about it recently in comments under one of articles.
 
douglasf13

douglasf13

New member
That is interesting. Thanks for the report, Jerry. I'm not exactly sure why the M9 would increase its resolution advantage over the NEX at wide aperture. I'll have to think hat over a bit... Either way, that M9 sure is a sweet cam!
 
edwardkaraa

edwardkaraa

New member
I'm not sure that AA filters, even strong ones, can completely eliminate moire. There are certain patterns that will cause moire even with a not so sharp lens and a strong AA filter. The A900 has been giving me moire quite often with the 24/2, admittedly a high resolving lens, but the AA filter on the A900 is not particularly weak.
 
douglasf13

douglasf13

New member
Maybe so, Edward. Although the various building structure moire that I've noticed with the NEX-5 (and the moire that others have shown) certainly doesn't seem like particularly fine patterns. I never owned that sweet 24/2, but I did have some pretty sharp Zeiss and Leica lenses, and I certainly never noticed any issues with my A900, in comparison. The last time I saw moire like on the NEX-5 was when I owned a Leaf MFDB.

My guess is that Sony significantly weakened or removed the AA filter for the NEX-5 as either a cost cutting method, or to aid with oblique light rays, but that is purely speculation.

p.s. it really makes sense that Sony would remove the AA filter, because, as resolution goes up, AA filters are needed less and less. The M9's larger pixel pitch should still show more moire than an AA-less NEX-5, in theory.
 
edwardkaraa

edwardkaraa

New member
Of course, I am not ruling out the possibility of very weak to no AA filter altogether withe the Nex. I do not shoot with the Nex 3 often as I bought it for my girlfriend, and she's using the kit zoom, however I did notice some moire occasionally, even in jpgs. My comment was a generalization as some moire patterns will show even on film :)
 
J

Jerry_R

New member
"we already found out in the NEX-5 test – a weakened low-pass filter was probably used. Because of that it would be difficult for NEX lenses to compete with densely packed sensors featuring even weaker AA filter, used e.g. in the Olympus E-PL1."

http://www.lenstip.com/293.4-Lens_review-Sony_E_18-55_mm_f_3.5-5.6_OSS_Image_resolution.html

* * *
PS: one more interesting comparison:
GH2 + 20mm vs NEX-5 + 16mm

http://translate.google.com/transla...ic_Lumix_DMC-GH2_Rozdzielczo%C5%9B%C4%87.html

I know, lens is a factor. But not soo big.
Looks like NEX has indeed lower AA, but not yet as much as u43.
 
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