Is the NEX system winding down?

[Paratom]

Back to the original question - I dont think the Nex system is winding down.
The reason why we see some people selling Nex7 cameras and buying x-pro 1 and omd is because those cameras are 3 months "newer" models with some new bells and whistles.
(of course this is just my theory and by the way I am one which jumps ship to often in regards of those small cameras)
One thing seems obvious - not so many people here do like those mirrorless cameras enough that one would keep a model more than how long? 6 months? 1 year? Isnt that strange?
I could see only 2 reasons: 1) jumping ships is not so expensive compared to switching DSLR systems
2) we want a mirrorless systems which fullfill our needs but in the end we give up a quite some important things compared to the traditional systems:
-We give up nice big optical viewfinders
-smaller camera is easier to carry BUT how good can we reach buttons, how stable sits the camera in the hand
->in the end -after the new toy factor has gone - we are not totally happy, and once the next generation we jump ship with the hope that all will be better with the newer camera...but I am afraid it wont.

By the way I see the X-Pro 1 as an exception (without owning one)

 

[Terry]

No kidding. I constantly see this argument for the Canon DSLR system, but I only use 3-4 focal lengths max on any system.

I don't need that many focal lengths but when you do have a special need you do sort of want your system to be able to handle it.

For example going to Kenya I needed a long lens.
Right now I need ultra wide for an upcoming trip.
Neither are everyday lenses for me.

 

[douglasf13]

It really doesn't matter, for me. I'm not sure I've ever owned or used a lens longer than a 135mm-200mm equiv. on any camera. A 20-something prime, standard-ish prime, short tele prime, and occasionally a mid tele prime are all that I really need for anything I'd ever shoot, although I still shoot the standard a large majority of the time. I enjoy limitations in art.

 

[mazor]

Terry, If you want to keep with the sony E series lens I think for travelling the 18-200 would suit most of your applications, maybe together with the 16mm pancake with wide angle converters. If you have space left a 24 zeiss 1.8 or the 50mm f1.8 could be favourable for street or low light photography.


Think sony has a good selection of primes and zooms for their E system, considering they are going solo. Panasonic and Olympus used a shared MFT mount plus had a head start, so it is not unusual for such an abundant selection of lens.

 

[Paratom]

It really doesn't matter, for me. I'm not sure I've ever owned or used a lens longer than a 135mm-200mm equiv. on any camera. A 20-something prime, standard-ish prime, short tele prime, and occasionally a mid tele prime are all that I really need for anything I'd ever shoot, although I still shoot the standard a large majority of the time. I enjoy limitations in art.

I have over 10 lenses for my Leica M and use 50mm 90%. Sometimes 35mm, sometimes 85mm. Seldomly 21 or 24 mm.
The only reason why I (still) have all those lenses is because I cant make up my mind.
I plan to reduce to 21,35,50 and either 85 or 90mm.
Of course if I was a sports or wildlife shooter, one long lens would be needed at least.

 

[Jim DE]

I don't think it is winding down as much as settling in. We see it all the time a new camera hits the market and the techno junkies swarm to it like a pack of piranhas. Sony had supply issues with the 7 so the feeding frenzy lasted much longer than normal. Thus, forums had much more than normal hype about it. Those that had product informed those that didn't lusted... Kept the forums hopping since Aug '11. Now, the 7's are becoming readily available. Those that wanted them now have them.

Now, the new fodder that has hit the water is the D800's and OMD's. Once again the school has moved to the fresh meat and both of these products are also in limited demand so the feeding frenzy continues. This just seems to be a never ending process in today's photography.

Usually, the chatter on forms slows greatly when everyone who wants one has one and is using them. Personally, I am relatively happy with my current line up of hardware and hopefully will stay out of the photography hardware feeding frenzy's for a few years now Being retired on fixed income make it tough finacially to run with the techno pack. Hope they find their "golden ring" or "magic beans" or "crock of gold" that they are looking for

 

[ustein]

>Being retired on fixed income make it tough finacially to run with the techno pack.

Great, that means you have time to take photos

 

[fotografz]

I don't think it is winding down as much as settling in. We see it all the time a new camera hits the market and the techno junkies swarm to it like a pack of piranhas. Sony had supply issues with the 7 so the feeding frenzy lasted much longer than normal. Thus, forums had much more than normal hype about it. Those that had product informed those that didn't lusted... Kept the forums hopping since Aug '11. Now, the 7's are becoming readily available. Those that wanted them now have them.

Now, the new fodder that has hit the water is the D800's and OMD's. Once again the school has moved to the fresh meat and both of these products are also in limited demand so the feeding frenzy continues. This just seems to be a never ending process in today's photography.

Usually, the chatter on forms slows greatly when everyone who wants one has one and is using them. Personally, I am relatively happy with my current line up of hardware and hopefully will stay out of the photography hardware feeding frenzy's for a few years now Being retired on fixed income make it tough finacially to run with the techno pack. Hope they find their "golden ring" or "magic beans" or "crock of gold" that they are looking for

+1 ... 100% :thumbup:

Retirement and fixed incomes have a way of bringing home reality and a love and respect for what you have

-Marc

 

[kuau]

I am still loving my NEX 7, with three lenses I carry in a Clik Elite waist pack.
Sigmarit 19,30 and sony 50/1.8
I think its a great setup, nice and small, light and at base iSO great images...

When I want to carry more equipment on a long hike I take my D800, and when I want to shoot super high quality "road kill" i.e. Yosemite I would shot my Sinar arTec tech view camera.

 

[Jim DE]

Uwe, That I do have!

The amazing thing to me now that I have been retired for nearly 5 years is how busy we get doing nothing.... I have no idea how I had time for work in my younger years

 

[alba63]

I do not think that the system is going down either, the Amazon sales charts seem to indicate that the Nex line is pretty popular. I guess that a good percentage of the mainstream buyers vote for the lifestyle factor, and this is where the Nex can attract people. Like the f-717 years ago, the Nex line has a "sexy" caracter and just looks sleek and modern.

I only have a Nex (the 7) since 3 weeks or so, and already it is my main used camera (98% of the time). It is light, pushes out great looking files with incredible detail and large latitude, and takes any lens I ever had, from my very first interchangeable lens (1982 Ricoh 50mm/ f2) to my latest Zeiss ZF.2

I absolutely love (!) the form factor and weight, with the Contax G lenses the camera lies solid in the hand while being light at the same time.

And beautiful.

Potentially the Nex system is a winner, if only they could make the AF a bit faster. But 80% of the time I do not need a fast AF. For the rest I have my Nikon d700.-

Bernie

 

[douglasf13]

We live near various tourist attractions out here in Hollywood, and we'll occasionally go to them for a movie or dinner, and I've surprised just how many NEX cameras are in the hands of tourists these days. I rarely saw tourists with Sony DSLRs when I was shooting them, but I've seen tons of NEXs around. I even saw a gentlemen with a NEX-7 last weekend outside of the Kodak (formerly know as) Theater.

 

[ken_vs_ryu]

bmw just introduced the x1, they must be winding down.

 

[ken_vs_ryu]

We live near various tourist attractions out here in Hollywood, and we'll occasionally go to them for a movie or dinner, and I've surprised just how many NEX cameras are in the hands of tourists these days. I rarely saw tourists with Sony DSLRs when I was shooting them, but I've seen tons of NEXs around. I even saw a gentlemen with a NEX-7 last weekend outside of the Kodak (formerly know as) Theater.

I saw the same amount of m4/3 and nex systems on my last trip. One xpro1, one leica, one contax slr, and countless dslrs.

 

[Millsart]

After spending more time shooting with the EM-5/OM-D, with accessory grip, I have decided to sell both my X100 and NEX7. The more I use the OM-D, the harder it is to go back to the other mirrorless options. I also tried out the XPro, and while I did really like the 35mm f1.4, the camera's ultimate size and handling just didn't really feel like a system I'd want to put $3000 or so into.

The NEX7 is still a very good camera overall, with a great EVF, amazing resolution and a pretty good good selection of glass these days with the 24 and 50 sony's and 19 and 30 panasonics. 24 Zeiss is of course pricey but the other options are all quite good for very affordable prices

All and all though it comes down to the OM-D just offering a bit more bang for the buck and proving a little more enjoyable to shoot.

The NEX7 EVF is fantastic for manual focus and its got exceptional resolution, but outdoors I find its just rather contrasty and really makes it hard to judge the exposure for areas of shade and shadow. Its also got a bit of a lag when switching with the eye sensor which can be annoying. I've taken the eye cup off and that does help but then dealing with stray light can be more of an issue.

EM-5 in contrast just seems to work pretty effortlessly. You can customize every button and dial, even the record button (take note Sony!) to do what you want, and even better, you can save all these customizations as user settings which are very easy to recall (again take note Sony!)

The AF on the EM-5 is so fast it feels that its instant, and being able to select the AF point via the touch screen is also a feature I'm quickly becoming to make regular use of. Really the overall quality of the touch screen is what sets it apart for me. I've had the NEX5n and GH2 which have touch screens but never found them to work well. The EM-5 has the iPhone style which is very accurate and works flawlessly. Sadly no multi gesture to zoom in/out etc which would of been really cool (take note Olympus)

The EM-5 evf while not that high of resolution has great clarity and really shows the scene as it will be captured, it also has a very fast refresh rate (with an option to double it) with no motion blur or lag. It certainly still looks like an EVF but one that I feel I can accurately judge the exposure on.

Top it off with the amazing IBIS system and a great range of native lenses and its just becoming the camera I'm grabbing.

The NEX7 by no means is a bad camera, and for base ISO tripod work it certainly has the resolution advantage, but for my overall general photography its just not as enjoyable to shoot with as the EM-5

 

[douglasf13]

I saw the same amount of m4/3 and nex systems on my last trip. One xpro1, one leica, one contax slr, and countless dslrs.

Yeah, I've been surprised to see as many NEXs as m4/3s.

 

[Millsart]

Yeah, I've been surprised to see as many NEXs as m4/3s.

Sony's got a large marketing arm and does quite well in getting camera's into the big box retailers in addition to camera shops. Its also a brand name that most consumers know well and associate with high quality when it comes to electronics.

Its honestly pretty hard to find much in the way of Panasonic or Olympus products (at least in the United States) and brands like Olympus, despite having a great history, just aren't quite the household name. Likewise your not going to walk into Best Buy and find a Fuji X100.

If your an enthusiast and know a bit about camera's gear then your probably familiar with the m4/3 cameras, the Fuji's etc, but to those who don't know, generally the feeling is that a Sony product is going to be pretty good, especially when you see them in a nice display case at the end of the isle.

Generally speaking I don't think you can really go wrong buying a Sony electronics product be it a digital camera, a HDTV, a blu ray player etc. May not be the cheapest, may not be the best, but its going to do what 95% of consumers want/expect.

It's actually funny at times because when I've had Leica's, non-photographer friends actually thought I got some generic brand from China because they weren't familiar with it.

 

[Jim DE]

I know this is a cliche but it is rarely ever the hardware and usually always the thing that occupies the 12" behind the viewfinder that really makes the major difference in creating fine images. IMO the above is a ultimate truth! We all have seen great images made from pinhole cameras, cellphones, P&S, mirrorless whatever's, dSLR's , and up through high dollar tech cameras. I look at some of the images from the techno pack that they create as early adopters and they are fantastic. Then next month or a few months later I see them with new equipment posting once again beautiful pictures. Scan back just 2-3 years and just look at all the "best camera I have ever used" comments then a short time later the units are on the buy and sell forum. If it was great the first month and the images prove that out how can it be bad two months later?

It is near amusing to me to watch many of the same people jumping on and off of ships in an effort for the perfect image. From my vantage point many of these people are creating the perfect image with whatever is in their hands some other?????? Well at best it's subjective.

Sad thing is ... If money was no object and if I had an unlimited bank roll I would most likely be in the middle of the techno pack myself Retirement, the economy, and a fixed income that buys 20% less than it did in 2007 kinda makes one step back and check the realities which is: there are no crocks of gold at the end of rainbows. I think the site I was looking at this week was R Huffs where he was comparing the d800-NEX 7- OMD now granted we are talking about comparing apples to almonds here but looking at the images he posted and the crops. If I had not seen the others I would of been happy with any of them. Some of the best images I have ever seen were made by some of the techno pack using a Nex7 that they no longer own!

So no I think the NEX system is doing fine it's just the new is beginning to wear off and now we are into the use and enjoy mode which doesn't promote too much photo forum chit chat as it did when it was new and unavailable.

 

[ecsh]

+1

Joe

 

[Show Performance]

I look at some of the images from the techno pack that they create as early adopters and they are fantastic. Then next month or a few months later I see them with new equipment posting once again beautiful pictures.

Nice post Jim.

As a recovering member of the "Techno Pack" - have been with the NEX platform for one whole year without yielding to the allure of another - this hits home. I believe this is a lifelong affliction for some, at least as long as their bankroll can support.

I was thinking about this some recently as I scanned all the "test photos" from various cameras I have used in the past few years. What drives this obsession? One thing I noticed is that my photos have in most cases become more technically perfect. Does that make them better? Hell no.

I think it is time to focus more on those 12".