Thanks for the review. My NEX5r occasionally gives me a Camera error message and I have found that using the camera in cold temperatures (below freezing) will increase the number of these error messages. That’s really a problem where I leve in the winter. I just got it for Christmas and haven’t been able to take more than a couple of outdoor pictures of my kids. I just get he Camera Error message and have to restart the camera. Oh well. Maybe it’ll work better in the summer…Just something to keep in mind when looking for a new camera if you happen to live in a cold climate.
John
January 30, 2013 11:08 am
I enjoyed the review. One question – did you notice any difference in touch screen sensitivity between the 5R and 5N? I read that Sony downgraded the 5R to a resistive touchscreen from the 5N’s capacitive one. thanks
John, to be honest, I did not notice any difference in the way touchscreen worked or responded. Since all of the settings can be changed with buttons, I did not bother using the touch interface. Sony lags behind in touchscreen technology in my opinion – the Canon EOS M touchscreen is much more useful and better. Hopefully Sony will make it better in the next version of the NEX-5.
Paulina
January 20, 2013 1:34 pm
Hi Nasim! I’m a photography newbie that wants to go a step forward from point-and-shot, since i can’t take proper sports pictures (amateur basketball league, light in the gym is not that good either). I’m starting to discover this beautiful world because i worked in a TV channel and learnt about angles, colors, focus points and so on in transmissions, but i liked more to take pictures, they seem more beautiful and emotional to me.
As our friend Edgar upper here, I’m looking for getting a camera in my next trip to the states. I was ready to buy a Nikon 1 (J2 or V1), but then i decided to check all mirrorless reviews and then i found your website.
After i read Canon EOS M, Nikon 1 (J1, J2, V1) and This one (Sony Nex 5R), i can’t decide if getting a J2 or a Nex 6…. what do you think? or should i wait for your OM-D review and decide? As a beginner in this, I’m not much worried about VF (i’m really sorry if this hurts all people here), but i really can’t decide which one… Can you lend me hand?
btw, sorry if my english is bad… spanish native speaker :P
Paulina, I posted the Olympus OM-D E-M5 review yesterday – check it out :) If you decide to get a Sony NEX camera, then the Sony NEX-6 is the way to go…
Nasim, thanks for your answer!! i already checked for your review on Olympus OM-D and I’m quite impressed. The only thing stopping me is the prize :/ I know this is too much asking…but, by coincidence, did you take sports/movement/taekwondo pictures with Nikon J2/V1 and/or Sony Nex-6? I know you said that if we wanted to take sports picture we should stay with a DSLR, but i’m just transitioning from point-and-shot and i don’t want bunky equipment… i swear this is the last question! :D
Edgar, nice question and you are jumping a little ahead of the game, since I have not written the OM-D review yet :) That’s fine though, I understand the urgency.
I did not buy the zoom kit lens, because I knew that I would not use it. The Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 stays glued on the OM-D, unless I want to go wide. The 12mm stays in the bag for the moments when I need to go wider.
In the future, I am planning to get a telephoto lens and a super wide angle to cover more range…
Autofocus will work perfectly on all Panasonic m4/3 lenses on the OM-D, and it’s the same lens mount. You can even update Panasonic lens firmware via the update software for the Olympus OM-D. One of the advantages of the m4/3 system.
I recently sold my DSLR for the OM-D, and loving it to bits.
Alexis
January 4, 2013 7:46 am
A friend of mine just bought this camera and he has problem with the shutter. It stucks when he first turn on the camera!!! He turns it off and open again and it’s good to go!!! Why this problem??? Do you know anything about it?
Alexis, probably a problem with your friend’s unit. Mine did not exhibit any shutter issues, it worked great all the time. He should send it to Sony for repair or back to where he bought it from for an exchange/refund.
Mayde he will send it back for refund. Thanks Nasim!!!
EnPassant
December 31, 2012 10:26 pm
Really liked seeing the side by side comparing photos of 5R and 5N! Though personally I am not interested in the 5-series NEX-cameras with their anorectic small bodies, non standard flash-connection and no EVF. I do however seriously consider NEX-6 and assume a lot is the same as in 5R. The question is if the 55-210 included in the dual lens package deal with NEX-6 have the updated AF?
Sony charging extra for added functions with apps really sucks. It’s Minolta all over again with their Function Cards for analog film cameras 7000i and 7xi.
Yes, the NEX-6 is very similar to the NEX-5R in terms of image quality and AF performance. However, the NEX-6 is my choice among all NEX cameras, because it has a standard hot shoe for speedlights and flash triggers. Plus, its ergonomics are very nice, better than on the NEX-7 in my opinion.
If you get the NEX-5R or NEX-6, you will have to update lenses for the hybrid AF. I had to update the 18-55mm and the 24mm f/1.8 Zeiss. If you do not update, phase detect won’t function at all…
HomoSapiensWannaBe
December 31, 2012 12:29 pm
I am in the market for a compact EVIL (electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens) camera. The Sony NEX-6 seems a great choice.
I was ready to buy a two-lens V1 kit, then Nikon started giving away the 24-85VR with the D600. I am upset because I had to pay $600 more when I bought the D600 kit in September. This, along with having to clean the sensor multiple times, and concerns about Nikon repair service, has led me to lack any Nikon loyalty. Hence, I don’t have any interest in buying the Nikon 1 system.
Currently, I am puzzling over why I usually have to dial in about +1 flash exposure compensation with the SB-910 when using the D600 in manual mode to control ambient light. Yes, I have the flash and camera exposure compensation modes separated using custom function E4, but this shouldn’t matter in manual mode. Maybe the cause is that I have been using balanced (BL) iTTL instead of standard iTTL? Or, maybe I just need to use center-weighted flash metering? Phew! This stuff is complicated!
Getting back to the EVIL subject: Like many others, I look forward to your comparison between the NEX-6 and Olympus OM-D.
Thanks for all the effort that goes into creating these reviews.
(Need a helper? I can give my address where you can send these cameras …)
In my experience, in such a case (I’m assuming dim ambient light)you should use iTTL, not iTTL-BL. iTTL-BL is great for fill flash in good lighting, but will underexpose in dim lighting.
On this page you can find articles explaining it all much better than I’m capable of.
Thanks! I had forgotten about that excellent site. I will reread the various articles now that I have the equipment and can do experiments.
David B
December 31, 2012 10:18 am
NASIM, I don’t know if you can answer this question, but let me try. On most previous mirrorless cameras, when you would use them with external flashes, be it Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, etc, the AF assist light on the flash WOULD NOT work, because AF assist light on a flash only works with phase system autofocus. Since now Sony includes the phase AF ability on its sensor, can Sony flash’ AF Assist Light come on now? Or it does not because phase AF only works in good light?
David, the AF Assist light is designed to work in AF-S mode with compatible flashes. When you mount a third party flash on the hot shoe, it is basically “dumb”, in full manual mode. The camera has no idea that you have anything mounted on it – it just sends the signal to the hot shoe no matter what – and that’s how your flash gets triggered :) So it is normal that the AF assist light does not work…
And phase detect has nothing to do with AF Assist – the light is supposed to turn on when the camera cannot see enough contrast. Phase detect gets turned off when there is not enough light/contrast, because the phase detect sensors receive only half of the available light.
Vipul Kapadia
December 31, 2012 9:55 am
Nasim, Great review as always!!! This was very helpful as I have been leaning towards NEX 6. I can’t wait for NEX 6 review but based on your experience with NEX 6 so far, would you recommend NEX 6? I have Nikon D7000 ad hoping the sensor with Sony NEX 6 would take really good pictures. I also might carry it around more than my Nikon especially during travels due to the size. Thanks and Happy New Year!!!
Vipul, if you want the best NEX camera and the best image quality in a mirrorless camera, the NEX-6 is the way to go. If you want the best all around performance, the OM-D E-M5 is my top choice – that’s what I bought myself.
Mikael, OM-D, hands down :) The Fuji cameras have a really bad RAW conversion algorithm in Lightroom and Camera RAW. It has not been fixed for a while now and I don’t know if it will ever get fixed!
The X-E1 will be reviewed in part 2 of the Battle of the Mirrorless :)
Thanks for the review. My NEX5r occasionally gives me a Camera error message and I have found that using the camera in cold temperatures (below freezing) will increase the number of these error messages. That’s really a problem where I leve in the winter. I just got it for Christmas and haven’t been able to take more than a couple of outdoor pictures of my kids. I just get he Camera Error message and have to restart the camera. Oh well. Maybe it’ll work better in the summer…Just something to keep in mind when looking for a new camera if you happen to live in a cold climate.
I enjoyed the review. One question – did you notice any difference in touch screen sensitivity between the 5R and 5N? I read that Sony downgraded the 5R to a resistive touchscreen from the 5N’s capacitive one. thanks
John, to be honest, I did not notice any difference in the way touchscreen worked or responded. Since all of the settings can be changed with buttons, I did not bother using the touch interface. Sony lags behind in touchscreen technology in my opinion – the Canon EOS M touchscreen is much more useful and better. Hopefully Sony will make it better in the next version of the NEX-5.
Hi Nasim!
I’m a photography newbie that wants to go a step forward from point-and-shot, since i can’t take proper sports pictures (amateur basketball league, light in the gym is not that good either).
I’m starting to discover this beautiful world because i worked in a TV channel and learnt about angles, colors, focus points and so on in transmissions, but i liked more to take pictures, they seem more beautiful and emotional to me.
As our friend Edgar upper here, I’m looking for getting a camera in my next trip to the states. I was ready to buy a Nikon 1 (J2 or V1), but then i decided to check all mirrorless reviews and then i found your website.
After i read Canon EOS M, Nikon 1 (J1, J2, V1) and This one (Sony Nex 5R), i can’t decide if getting a J2 or a Nex 6…. what do you think? or should i wait for your OM-D review and decide?
As a beginner in this, I’m not much worried about VF (i’m really sorry if this hurts all people here), but i really can’t decide which one…
Can you lend me hand?
btw, sorry if my english is bad… spanish native speaker :P
A big hug from Chile, South America!!!
Paulina
Paulina, I posted the Olympus OM-D E-M5 review yesterday – check it out :) If you decide to get a Sony NEX camera, then the Sony NEX-6 is the way to go…
Nasim, thanks for your answer!!
i already checked for your review on Olympus OM-D and I’m quite impressed. The only thing stopping me is the prize :/
I know this is too much asking…but, by coincidence, did you take sports/movement/taekwondo pictures with Nikon J2/V1 and/or Sony Nex-6?
I know you said that if we wanted to take sports picture we should stay with a DSLR, but i’m just transitioning from point-and-shot and i don’t want bunky equipment…
i swear this is the last question! :D
Paulina, go for the Nikon 1 V1 in that case – it is a great buy and it can do sports.
I wasn’t on time to buy the V1 kit :(
thanks for the advice, I’ll keep with the research
Hi Naim,
What lens do you use with the om-d? I am planning to buy one in my next trip to the states
Edgar, nice question and you are jumping a little ahead of the game, since I have not written the OM-D review yet :) That’s fine though, I understand the urgency.
I personally picked two lenses for my OM-D:
1) Panasonic 25mm f/1.4
2) Olympus 12mm f/2
I did not buy the zoom kit lens, because I knew that I would not use it. The Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 stays glued on the OM-D, unless I want to go wide. The 12mm stays in the bag for the moments when I need to go wider.
In the future, I am planning to get a telephoto lens and a super wide angle to cover more range…
Would AF work with Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 on Olympus OM-D or do we have to get a lens adapter and use it with MF?
Autofocus will work perfectly on all Panasonic m4/3 lenses on the OM-D, and it’s the same lens mount. You can even update Panasonic lens firmware via the update software for the Olympus OM-D. One of the advantages of the m4/3 system.
I recently sold my DSLR for the OM-D, and loving it to bits.
A friend of mine just bought this camera and he has problem with the shutter. It stucks when he first turn on the camera!!! He turns it off and open again and it’s good to go!!! Why this problem??? Do you know anything about it?
Alexis, probably a problem with your friend’s unit. Mine did not exhibit any shutter issues, it worked great all the time. He should send it to Sony for repair or back to where he bought it from for an exchange/refund.
Mayde he will send it back for refund. Thanks Nasim!!!
Really liked seeing the side by side comparing photos of 5R and 5N!
Though personally I am not interested in the 5-series NEX-cameras with their anorectic small bodies, non standard flash-connection and no EVF.
I do however seriously consider NEX-6 and assume a lot is the same as in 5R.
The question is if the 55-210 included in the dual lens package deal with NEX-6 have the updated AF?
Sony charging extra for added functions with apps really sucks. It’s Minolta all over again with their Function Cards for analog film cameras 7000i and 7xi.
Yes, the NEX-6 is very similar to the NEX-5R in terms of image quality and AF performance. However, the NEX-6 is my choice among all NEX cameras, because it has a standard hot shoe for speedlights and flash triggers. Plus, its ergonomics are very nice, better than on the NEX-7 in my opinion.
If you get the NEX-5R or NEX-6, you will have to update lenses for the hybrid AF. I had to update the 18-55mm and the 24mm f/1.8 Zeiss. If you do not update, phase detect won’t function at all…
I am in the market for a compact EVIL (electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens) camera. The Sony NEX-6 seems a great choice.
I was ready to buy a two-lens V1 kit, then Nikon started giving away the 24-85VR with the D600. I am upset because I had to pay $600 more when I bought the D600 kit in September. This, along with having to clean the sensor multiple times, and concerns about Nikon repair service, has led me to lack any Nikon loyalty. Hence, I don’t have any interest in buying the Nikon 1 system.
Currently, I am puzzling over why I usually have to dial in about +1 flash exposure compensation with the SB-910 when using the D600 in manual mode to control ambient light. Yes, I have the flash and camera exposure compensation modes separated using custom function E4, but this shouldn’t matter in manual mode. Maybe the cause is that I have been using balanced (BL) iTTL instead of standard iTTL? Or, maybe I just need to use center-weighted flash metering? Phew! This stuff is complicated!
Getting back to the EVIL subject: Like many others, I look forward to your comparison between the NEX-6 and Olympus OM-D.
Thanks for all the effort that goes into creating these reviews.
(Need a helper? I can give my address where you can send these cameras …)
Cheers, and Have a great 2013!
In my experience, in such a case (I’m assuming dim ambient light)you should use iTTL, not iTTL-BL.
iTTL-BL is great for fill flash in good lighting, but will underexpose in dim lighting.
On this page you can find articles explaining it all much better than I’m capable of.
nikonclspracticalguide.blogspot.no/?m=0
Thanks! I had forgotten about that excellent site. I will reread the various articles now that I have the equipment and can do experiments.
NASIM, I don’t know if you can answer this question, but let me try. On most previous mirrorless cameras, when you would use them with external flashes, be it Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, etc, the AF assist light on the flash WOULD NOT work, because AF assist light on a flash only works with phase system autofocus.
Since now Sony includes the phase AF ability on its sensor, can Sony flash’ AF Assist Light come on now? Or it does not because phase AF only works in good light?
David, the AF Assist light is designed to work in AF-S mode with compatible flashes. When you mount a third party flash on the hot shoe, it is basically “dumb”, in full manual mode. The camera has no idea that you have anything mounted on it – it just sends the signal to the hot shoe no matter what – and that’s how your flash gets triggered :) So it is normal that the AF assist light does not work…
And phase detect has nothing to do with AF Assist – the light is supposed to turn on when the camera cannot see enough contrast. Phase detect gets turned off when there is not enough light/contrast, because the phase detect sensors receive only half of the available light.
Nasim,
Great review as always!!! This was very helpful as I have been leaning towards NEX 6. I can’t wait for NEX 6 review but based on your experience with NEX 6 so far, would you recommend NEX 6? I have Nikon D7000 ad hoping the sensor with Sony NEX 6 would take really good pictures. I also might carry it around more than my Nikon especially during travels due to the size. Thanks and Happy New Year!!!
Vipul, if you want the best NEX camera and the best image quality in a mirrorless camera, the NEX-6 is the way to go. If you want the best all around performance, the OM-D E-M5 is my top choice – that’s what I bought myself.
Thanks so much for your reply! I appreciate your input.
Om-d or x-e1 for one that already have D600? Are you reviewing the x-e1 in the future? Thanks for these good reviews!
Mikael, OM-D, hands down :) The Fuji cameras have a really bad RAW conversion algorithm in Lightroom and Camera RAW. It has not been fixed for a while now and I don’t know if it will ever get fixed!
The X-E1 will be reviewed in part 2 of the Battle of the Mirrorless :)
Great! Looking forward to it :)