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SONY Nex vs Micro 4/3

rrobinson54

New member
I am considering selling my micro 4/3 equipment (EP3, EP2, GH2, several lenses) and Fuji x100 - and moving to SONY. Like many people, I am very intrigued by the new SONY Nex 7, but the high price and lack of availability makes the Nex 7 out of the question right now.

Just wondering how users of micro 4/3 or Fuji feel about the SONY Nex 5n? Is the SONY a step forward or backward vs the micro 4/3 & Fuji? What lenses would you recommend for the Nex 5n?

Thanks!
 

Terry

New member
The 50mm f1.8 is the closest to the 45 macro. It isn't out yet. Michael Reichmann seems to have liked it. Steve Huff seems to have as well but the pictures with the review were not really worthy of being posted in a lens review. It was due out right about now but has been delayed due to the floods.

I was never bothered by the kit lens for the NEX's but others have differing opinions. I don't know how well it will do with 24mp.

The 5n and 7 are pretty different in handling and some people will love or hate both and other may have a strong preference for one over the other. So, there aren't definite answers for everything just yet.
 
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docmoore

Subscriber and Workshop Member
I have Pan GH2 F X100 Ricoh GXR M and now NEX 5N...NEX 7 should arrive next week.

I am not at this time overwhelmed with the IQ of the NEX 5N...AA filter seems to be stronger than X100....and this is with Leica and VC lenses...not the kit zoom lens. I am working in post trying to find a sweet spot for settings and at the moment have not been overwhelmed. White balance auto is inadequate and the colors in raw do not approach the clean sweet colors I got from the A850 and A900. Seems to be a bit biased towards brown and warm colors...lots of yellows...does not seem to be as neutral as the sensors in the A850/900.

Sensor seems to be very susceptible to blooming...and I have had a fair amount of red/cyan fringe issues with moderate backlight.

If I do not see a great improvement with the NEX 7 I may be back to the GXR and FUJI...time will tell.

My advice is do not burn too many bridges before you test these cameras...size and usability is without peer...however, not a slam dunk for me at least.

Bob
 

pegelli

Well-known member
I think before we can answer your question we need to know what you are "missing" in your current set-up that would make you switch. Other than a bigger sensor which might show a little more DR and less noise at higher iso's (and bigger lenses for the same fov) they're both capable systems and the differences are not earth shattering I would think.
 

Michiel Schierbeek

Well-known member
I have Pan GH2 F X100 Ricoh GXR M and now NEX 5N...NEX 7 should arrive next week.

I am not at this time overwhelmed with the IQ of the NEX 5N...AA filter seems to be stronger than X100....and this is with Leica and VC lenses...not the kit zoom lens. I am working in post trying to find a sweet spot for settings and at the moment have not been overwhelmed. White balance auto is inadequate and the colors in raw do not approach the clean sweet colors I got from the A850 and A900. Seems to be a bit biased towards brown and warm colors...lots of yellows...does not seem to be as neutral as the sensors in the A850/900.

Sensor seems to be very susceptible to blooming...and I have had a fair amount of red/cyan fringe issues with moderate backlight.

If I do not see a great improvement with the NEX 7 I may be back to the GXR and FUJI...time will tell.

My advice is do not burn too many bridges before you test these cameras...size and usability is without peer...however, not a slam dunk for me at least.

Bob
I am not sure yet but I am thinking about changing my set up too, but not necessarily to Sony. I am a long time M4/3 user and I am now working along side the GH2 with the GXR with M module.
And these "only" 12mp files surprise me every time.
They are more refined and detailed as what I get from my GH2.

I hope Ricoh is able to tweak that same Nex 5N sensor into something special again.

Certainly I am also going to try out the NEX 7 because I want to see for myself how it will perform. It looks like a real cool camera, the only problem is I have to avoid some of the best wide angle lenses.
But I do have enough alternatives for that.

It is not before all of that, I think, before I am going to sell all my M4/3 stuff. And also; it could be that Fuji is going to surprise us in januari.
The way things look now it may well be that I end up with Ricoh alone till a full frame "alternative Leica" is there.

Exiting times...

Michiel
 
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V

Vivek

Guest
I have the NEX-5 since it showed up. It has been sitting unused for close to an year. IME, it is a nice sensor, not a camera. There is absolutely no comparison to the fabulous GH-2 in terms of real use.

The NEX-7, with an integrated EVF and a built in hotshoe, looks like a camera that I can use. I look forward to how it would handle and perform. It would be hard to replace the GH-2, regardless of the lenses available or the lack thereof.
 

weinschela

Subscriber Member
I have a Nex7 and just gave my son my MFT (Panasonic G3). This is a very personal thing, so you have to decide for yourself what is important. For me, the larger (APS) sensor, built in EVF, and focus peaking were deciding factors, as I wanted to be able to use my Leica lenses. I am not running out to sell my M9, but the Nex7 is a very good camera that feels good in my hands and allows me to operate similarly to how I operate with the M9. The Nex7 allows you to go wider than MFT, and at the same time, is very good with longer Leica lenses that can easily be focused manually. The kit lens is okay for what it is. The Zeiss 24 is excellent, even if there is some CA. The results have been very very good IMHO. The Nex7 can be a backup for my M9, and is also useful for situations where you need autofocus or a fill-in flash (the built in flash is barely adequate but better than nothing). Plus, when I put my Perar 35 on it, it is very small pocketable (okay, large coatpocket) camera with a 50mm equivalent on it. All in all, zero regrets switching from MFT.
 

Amin

Active member
I have an E-P3 and NEX-C3 and like both of them. My ideal lenses for the C3 would be Zeiss 24/1.8 and 50/1.8, but I don't have either of those yet. For now, I'm using the C3 with the Sony 16mm lens. I don't see Sony replacing MFT for me because I like my MFT lenses too much (and I like that they are smaller than Sony counterparts), but I'm happy to use both systems.

I had an NEX-5N and sold it after trying the C3. The C3 was as comfortable to me, had nearly identical image quality (including edge performance with the 16mm lens, which performs slightly worse on the older NEX-5 and -3), and saved me a couple hundred bucks (buying used).

The NEX-7 doesn't appeal much to me because I have no need for the higher resolution, the EVF, or the Tri-Navi controls.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I have a G3 (and my wife a gh1) and lately got a 5n (with EVF) with kit lens and 24/1.8.

I have not yet decided which I like better.
The m4/3 seems to focus faster/better, the size of the lenses is nicer plus there are much more lens options (if you want to use AF).
The Nex EVF is better than the G3, really the first EVF I sometimes forget its EVF. It has focus peaking which is cool for manual focus. The Sony images seem to have more depth...but thats very subjective and frienkly in the few direct comparisons I did I couldnt see that much difference in IQ.
Ah yes-the 5n you have to decide if you want use flash OR EVF. Stupid.
I really like the Nex5n speed (you dont feel any shutter delay) and the user interface works much better than I initially thought.

AT the moment I use the Nex most, but it could be because its newer ;)
Both cams are beaten easily by the M9 in IQ.

I guess if this was my only camera system I would rasther get a Nex7.
If I had also a DSLR the m4/3 might be the more interesting alternative because of the smaller size.
 

Rawfa

Active member
I´ve been shooting with the NEX5 for some time and I absolutely love what the sensor can do. I also really like the tilt lcd and the fact that it shows you exactly what the picture is going to look like. Like it was said before the main problem for me is the size of the lenses...this defeats the whole purpose of having something as compact as a NEX camera. But Sony has announced that it has plans for smaller lenses on 2012, so I´m hanging on to it. All Sony needs to do is come up with a 30mm 1.8 pancake and they will have me hooked forever.
 
H

h00ligan

Guest
The 50mm f1.8 is the closest to the 45 macro. It isn't out yet. Michael Reichmann seems to have liked it. Steve Huff seems to have as well but the pictures with the review were not really worthy of being posted in a lens review. It was due out right about now but has been delayed due to the floods.

I was never bothered by the kit lens for the NEX's but others have differing opinions. I don't know how well it will do with 24mp.

The 5n and 7 are pretty different in handling and some people will love or hate both and other may have a strong preference for one over the other. So, there aren't definite answers for everything just yet.
Wouldn't the macro 30 be a better match ....
 
Wouldn't the macro 30 be a better match ....
Different crop factors - the 50mm on NEX gets you to 75mm (35mm equiv) while the 45mm on m4/3 gets you to 90mm (35mm equiv).

The 30mm macro would only be 45mm (35mm equiv).

Also, the 50mm is much faster than the 30mm but I think Terry was mostly comparing FOV.
 

RichA

New member
I am considering selling my micro 4/3 equipment (EP3, EP2, GH2, several lenses) and Fuji x100 - and moving to SONY. Like many people, I am very intrigued by the new SONY Nex 7, but the high price and lack of availability makes the Nex 7 out of the question right now.

Just wondering how users of micro 4/3 or Fuji feel about the SONY Nex 5n? Is the SONY a step forward or backward vs the micro 4/3 & Fuji? What lenses would you recommend for the Nex 5n?

Thanks!
Needs a much greater expenditure on lenses in order to get the best results. Luminous Landscape tested the NEX-7 and it was noticeably better with a $6000 Leica lens than a "lowly" $1000 Zeiss prime from Sony.
 

docmoore

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Needs a much greater expenditure on lenses in order to get the best results. Luminous Landscape tested the NEX-7 and it was noticeably better with a $6000 Leica lens than a "lowly" $1000 Zeiss prime from Sony.
Hard to name three cameras where this does not hold true...however it gives one the ability to up their game at any time by upgrading lens selection. As such I do not see this as a deficit.

I have posted a few pics on the Having Fun Thread...the NEX 7 is a significant step from the NEX 5 and may overplay M 43 and Ricoh GXR.


http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showpost.php?p=377597&postcount=82


Bob
 
Needs a much greater expenditure on lenses in order to get the best results. Luminous Landscape tested the NEX-7 and it was noticeably better with a $6000 Leica lens than a "lowly" $1000 Zeiss prime from Sony.
I must be misreading their review.

"Given all of the above, the 24mm Zeiss stands up to the Leica Summilux very well indeed. It bests it in some areas, holds its own in some, and falls slightly behind elsewhere. Overall this is a stunning performance."
 

Amin

Active member
Needs a much greater expenditure on lenses in order to get the best results. Luminous Landscape tested the NEX-7 and it was noticeably better with a $6000 Leica lens than a "lowly" $1000 Zeiss prime from Sony.
They re-did the test and found the difference to be slight the second time around.
 

jonoslack

Active member
Needs a much greater expenditure on lenses in order to get the best results. Luminous Landscape tested the NEX-7 and it was noticeably better with a $6000 Leica lens than a "lowly" $1000 Zeiss prime from Sony.
They re-did the test and found the difference to be slight the second time around.
I'm with Amin here
I've now tested a lot of lenses on the NEX7:

Leica:
28-90 R
180 f2.8 R APO

16-18-21 WATE
24 f1.4 'lux
50 f1.4 'lux
50 f0.95 noct

Sony:
16
18-55
18-200

Whilst it was nice to use the Leica lenses, and there is a difference, I have to say that the cheaper Sony lenses (even the little 16mm pancake) do very well. I think that the extra resolution provided by the 24mp sensor is worthwhile - even with cheaper lenses, and I although you might need to spent a lot to get the best results, the NEX7 does demonstrably better than the 5n in terms of resolution, even with cheaper lenses like the kit lens.

I think that what the NEX7 shows very clearly is that under normal shooting conditions, more megapixels is a good thing - personally I can't see any downside, and LL noise comparison with the 5n showed that at the same resolution there was really very little difference.
 
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