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Pimped NEX-5N EVF

douglasf13

New member
I "pimped" my NEX-5N EVF with some Hassie camera leather. In person, it really plays down the plastic-y-ness of the EVF, and I think it goes well with the black camera. What do you think?





p.s. these crappy pics are using the iPhone up close, so they really make the EVF appear larger than it really is. I was surprised how relatively small it is.
 

douglasf13

New member
The case is made by Ciesta for the Nex-5. It is the best I've tried and makes it easy to get to the tilt LCD. On the 5N, the case has a tiny bit of slack around the base, but it's barely noticeable. There should be a 5N specific version available soon, but this one fits well enough for me.
 

m_driscoll

New member
The case is made by Ciesta for the Nex-5. It is the best I've tried and makes it easy to get to the tilt LCD. On the 5N, the case has a tiny bit of slack around the base, but it's barely noticeable. There should be a 5N specific version available soon, but this one fits well enough for me.
Thank you, sir!
 

Jim DE

New member
Nice Douglas!

Just curious about something else. As a long time NEX 5 user if one was not going to use the EVF nor any rangefinder lens wider than a 28 contax G do you feel the move to a 5n would be worth the $600? I mean is the difference in IQ that noticeable?

I see all the 5n pics on this and the other sites but the difference I see on the net is not that noticeable. But that is at web sizes. Just curious on your opinion Douglas. Thanks in advance.
 

Terry

New member
Nice Douglas!

Just curious about something else. As a long time NEX 5 user if one was not going to use the EVF nor any rangefinder lens wider than a 28 contax G do you feel the move to a 5n would be worth the $600? I mean is the difference in IQ that noticeable?
The NEX 5n body is $600 wouldn't you be able to sell your 5 for a few hundred dollars to reduce cost?
 

Jim DE

New member
I guess Terry but if I am not going to see a significant difference I can't see the reason for swapping these out. I have always liked my NEX 5 with Contax G glass and have never had an issue with it not having a viewfinder especially for the ground level scenics I do. I have the 16, extra wide, fisheye, and the 18-55 but between all of them the number of times I have used these is less than 6 each. Fact is the 18-55 I have only used on one outing since I got the Contax G to e adapter.

I can't use the 21mm Contax G because without cutting it won't fit, I use a 28mm, 35mm, 45 mm (90% of the time) and a 90mm Contax G lenses and am very happy with these except the 28 I have to shoot 5.6 or smaller to avoid smearing and color shift. Most of my shots are ground level off a small lightweight tripod extended near flat so a EVF is a no go for my needs or wants. I can always justify improved IQ at a4 print size and if it would be significant going from the 5-5n then I will bite the bullet and get one.

Yesterday I went to the beach and did some 50 iso scenics with a 11-16mm lens and my a77 and the results were impressive( almost too much detail in fact). I like the NEX size and the kit weight for trekking into the backcountry far more than the DSLR kit size and weight at my age. So using the a77 all the time won't be for me.

Anyway Terry you have shot both now a significant amount what is your point of view on IQ alone? Is the step up to a 5n a significant improvement in IQ alone using Contax glass to fork over the $600 dollars?
 

douglasf13

New member
Howdy, Jim. I just received the 5N, and, although I wasn't initially excited about ordering it, since it is so similar to the 5, I was surprised at how noticeable the various improvements are over the 5.

-The 5N's full metal top plate really feels better, IMO
-The touchscreen is fantastic for manual focus magnification and image review
-The right button on the dial is programmable, which helps me a lot
-EVF option
-The new fast, quiet shutter is a makes a huge difference to me

Then, of course, we have the IQ. The 5N is new to me, so I haven't tested much, but there is less color shift even with my ZM 35/2, which didn't have much in the first place, and it looks like my preliminary tests show that the CV is sharper in the corners on the 5N, and has less color shift. I would imagine the difference with your Contax 28 would be noticeable, but I'm not sure.
 

Jim DE

New member
Thanks Doug..... so basically the only significant difference with IQ is in the far corners then with RF lenses? You are not seeing much difference in the other 3/4's of the image? I know in the examples posted all over the web I really did not see much overall differences at all in IQ. Fact is the examples of the 28mm Contax G that I have seen taken with the 5n looked near identical to mine in color shift and smearing at the corners. I guess I will wait till one of our local shops get a display model so I can take a few shots and see myself after aperture 3 support comes out. I may lose out and the 5n's will be sold out buy that time though. :(

I see that aperture 3 is not supporting 5n RAW's as yet like with my a77 so right now it would be a leap of faith as to the IQ differences that I would see in my normal RAW workflow I use with the 5.

I have PS5 but find it is really too much of a hassle anymore to use it unless I am trying to save a horrible shot but I like the aperture 3 results with my Sony RAW's much better.
 

douglasf13

New member
Hi, Jim. I'm afraid to comment too much on the NEX-5N's IQ, because I haven't put it through it's paces, but, yes, the improvements I've seen so far are in the corners, even with my 35mm rangefinder lens. I have a NEX-7 on preorder, and I'm really interested to see how the 7 and 5N compare in this regard, since preliminary pics of the 7 that I've seen are troubling.
 
P

panyawong

Guest
Doug; Your pimped EVF look fabulous! May I asked where do you get the vulcanite hassy leather? Now I think you need to come up with NEX case with chrome rim and black leather to match. :)
 
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