is the 5N a big upgrade over NEX 5, though? the 5N isn’t available in india. and amazon isn’t shipping it here.
NEX 5 is available and really cheap. i have shortlisted that alongwith the olympus E-PL3 and Panasonic GF 3.
which one should i go for?
Phil Hand
September 15, 2012 10:38 am
I bought the Nex 5 N and have also tried using the panoramic, but from down up to get the image of tall trees, building etc. I read about this procedure somewhere on the internet but I haven’t been albe to make it work. Any ideas as to what I am doing wrong? Phil
don’t know if your problem is the same as mine but I’ve found that I was probably rotating the camera to slowly. Move it quickly as you pan and see if it makes any difference.
Mike O'Sullivan
September 15, 2012 8:00 am
Good review. I just bought one. I’m still getting familiar with all the functions. I just tried the panorama feature. However it seems very unreliable. So far I’ve managed to get two satisfactory panoramic shots out of around 30 attempts. I follow the instructions to the letter, but invariably get an error message – Cannot shoot panorama. I try it fast, I try it slow, holding the camera as still as I can to no avail. Is this likely to be a faulty unit?
Thanks for any comments.
pmack
July 20, 2012 6:46 am
this is the best review i have read so overall. so in depth and has totally persuaded me to buy one now. you should be selling the cameras not reviewing them! well done!
Quazi Ahmed Hussain
July 16, 2012 4:42 am
Hi Nasim. I’m a Canon APS-C DSLR user and enthusiast photog of nature and wildlife. Worried about the current trend of DSLRs.
Do you think Mirrorless brands could offer good systems to photogs like me within a couple of years or so?
I need at least one prime telephoto lens in the 400mm class, one telezoom lens in the 70-300mm class and one landscape lens in the 17-40mm class. The body should have fast AF with good low light capability, good burst rate and excellent low noise high ISO performance. Possible?
If affirmative; I won’t buy anything for the next 2 years and wait/save for the switch.
Suhaib
July 14, 2012 1:01 pm
Hi…I am interested in photography and uptil now have only owned a compact and super-zoom camera. Now I think its the right time to upgrade. I was thinking of going for the Canon T2i, but after reading about NEX-5n i am confused. Can you please suggest which camera should I choose, the T2i or 5n.
SamKam
June 25, 2012 1:34 pm
I loved your review but am absolutely lost now. I need to take “good” (for a complete unprofessional) photos of interiors. I though that I had decided on the Nikon D90 with 18-105mm lens. Then I came across this. Advice or suggestions welcome. Realistically I will not be using a tripod or an external flash, I essentially need to point and shoot and get good quality photos. I am sorry for being a complete ignoramous! which one would you suggest of these two? Thanks!
In The Event Men And math games Collide
June 15, 2012 10:50 am
Asking questions are really good thing if you are not understanding anything entirely, but this post offers fastidious understanding yet.
Phil
June 1, 2012 5:21 pm
Nasim; I am semiretired and have taken up photography as a hobby for when we go on trips. I have a Nex 3 and was thinking about upgrading to a Nex 5n and after reading your review I am sure that I will be doing it soon. I don’t think I need the 7 because I don’t take any videos and it seems that the big difference between the two (besides price) is there. Thanks for such a well explained review. I as a novice could understand most of it. I have a question about the lens; I am thinking of buying a Tamron 18mm-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR DI-III VC (B011) with Macro for the Sony E-mount NEX Series. We do a lot of nature traveling and I like the idea of a telescope lens. This one seems to have gotten better reviews than the Sony 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS and the Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS. What is your opinion on this? Also I was going to buy just the body and as a second lens I want to ask your opinion about which of these 3 you would recommend; 1.Sony 16mm f/2.8 2.Sony 24mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 3.Sony 30mm f/3.5 Macrobout I understand that the Carl Zeiss is 3 times more expensive than the others but if you could give me an idea of what I should look at I would appreciate it. Thanks again for your help with the Nex 5n. Phil
I don’t believe that any jump up to the NEX-7 is driven by video features. The max video resolution of any HD-DSLR, including the NEX series is going to be no more than 1920×1080 (except Blackmagic). That is only 2Megapixels out of either sensors. The Nex-7 sensor is of the same size than the 5n (both APS-C), except it packs more pixels. That is great for printing or cropping but the 7 won’t do as well as the 5n in low light due to pixel cram introducing higher level of noise at same ISO. The 7 will most likely be picked by folks who like the built-in viewfinder, additional nobs providing manual access to cam settings (vs. screen access) and built-in flash – none of which, in my opinion, are worth the price tag. Other folks will buy it because of the ‘pixel’ factor. As for lens selection, I shoot video with mine so my requirements are going to be different than if shooting only stills. I will let someone else comment.
David B
May 20, 2012 1:24 pm
Nasim I recently got Sony NEX5n as my small carry everywhere camera. My camera already came with firmware 1.01 which supposedly greatly enhanced AF with 5n. I don’t know how it used to be before that firmware which came out in March of 2012, after you had written your review, but I was impressed with AF speeds in low light (my main concern keeping me from buying the camera for the first year it was avail). I expected much worse it autofocuses almost instantly in very low light almost pitch dark restaurant. Does your review account for this new Firmware ?
great review!
is the 5N a big upgrade over NEX 5, though? the 5N isn’t available in india. and amazon isn’t shipping it here.
NEX 5 is available and really cheap. i have shortlisted that alongwith the olympus E-PL3 and Panasonic GF 3.
which one should i go for?
I bought the Nex 5 N and have also tried using the panoramic, but from down up to get the image of tall trees, building etc. I read about this procedure somewhere on the internet but I haven’t been albe to make it work.
Any ideas as to what I am doing wrong?
Phil
don’t know if your problem is the same as mine but I’ve found that I was probably rotating the camera to slowly. Move it quickly as you pan and see if it makes any difference.
Good review. I just bought one. I’m still getting familiar with all the functions. I just tried the panorama feature. However it seems very unreliable. So far I’ve managed to get two satisfactory panoramic shots out of around 30 attempts. I follow the instructions to the letter, but invariably get an error message – Cannot shoot panorama. I try it fast, I try it slow, holding the camera as still as I can to no avail. Is this likely to be a faulty unit?
Thanks for any comments.
this is the best review i have read so overall. so in depth and has totally persuaded me to buy one now. you should be selling the cameras not reviewing them! well done!
Hi Nasim. I’m a Canon APS-C DSLR user and enthusiast photog of nature and wildlife. Worried about the current trend of DSLRs.
Do you think Mirrorless brands could offer good systems to photogs like me within a couple of years or so?
I need at least one prime telephoto lens in the 400mm class, one telezoom lens in the 70-300mm class and one landscape lens in the 17-40mm class. The body should have fast AF with good low light capability, good burst rate and excellent low noise high ISO performance. Possible?
If affirmative; I won’t buy anything for the next 2 years and wait/save for the switch.
Hi…I am interested in photography and uptil now have only owned a compact and super-zoom camera. Now I think its the right time to upgrade. I was thinking of going for the Canon T2i, but after reading about NEX-5n i am confused. Can you please suggest which camera should I choose, the T2i or 5n.
I loved your review but am absolutely lost now.
I need to take “good” (for a complete unprofessional) photos of interiors. I though that I had decided on the Nikon D90 with 18-105mm lens. Then I came across this.
Advice or suggestions welcome. Realistically I will not be using a tripod or an external flash, I essentially need to point and shoot and get good quality photos. I am sorry for being a complete ignoramous!
which one would you suggest of these two?
Thanks!
Asking questions are really good thing if you are not understanding
anything entirely, but this post offers fastidious understanding yet.
Nasim;
I am semiretired and have taken up photography as a hobby for when we go on trips.
I have a Nex 3 and was thinking about upgrading to a Nex 5n and after reading your review I am sure that I will be doing it soon. I don’t think I need the 7 because I don’t take any videos and it seems that the big difference between the two (besides price) is there. Thanks for such a well explained review. I as a novice could understand most of it.
I have a question about the lens;
I am thinking of buying a Tamron 18mm-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR DI-III VC (B011) with Macro for the Sony E-mount NEX Series. We do a lot of nature traveling and I like the idea of a telescope lens. This one seems to have gotten better reviews than the Sony 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS and the Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS.
What is your opinion on this?
Also I was going to buy just the body and as a second lens I want to ask your opinion about which of these 3 you would recommend;
1.Sony 16mm f/2.8
2.Sony 24mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E
3.Sony 30mm f/3.5 Macrobout
I understand that the Carl Zeiss is 3 times more expensive than the others but if you could give me an idea of what I should look at I would appreciate it.
Thanks again for your help with the Nex 5n.
Phil
Phil,
I don’t believe that any jump up to the NEX-7 is driven by video features. The max video resolution of any HD-DSLR, including the NEX series is going to be no more than 1920×1080 (except Blackmagic). That is only 2Megapixels out of either sensors. The Nex-7 sensor is of the same size than the 5n (both APS-C), except it packs more pixels. That is great for printing or cropping but the 7 won’t do as well as the 5n in low light due to pixel cram introducing higher level of noise at same ISO. The 7 will most likely be picked by folks who like the built-in viewfinder, additional nobs providing manual access to cam settings (vs. screen access) and built-in flash – none of which, in my opinion, are worth the price tag. Other folks will buy it because of the ‘pixel’ factor. As for lens selection, I shoot video with mine so my requirements are going to be different than if shooting only stills. I will let someone else comment.
Nasim I recently got Sony NEX5n as my small carry everywhere camera. My camera already came with firmware 1.01 which supposedly greatly enhanced AF with 5n. I don’t know how it used to be before that firmware which came out in March of 2012, after you had written your review, but I was impressed with AF speeds in low light (my main concern keeping me from buying the camera for the first year it was avail). I expected much worse it autofocuses almost instantly in very low light almost pitch dark restaurant. Does your review account for this new
Firmware ?