[hinman]

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.

---

Thank you for the inputs. The video helps a lot and thank you for the K mount adapter pointer. The 5N really get me thinking. It is a bit over my budget for a traveling camera but it will serve more purposes and with the added image quality from a similar sensor like K5 and with good video, I see it as an extension to a lot of possibilites -- the worse nightmare (or the best dream) to more gear.

If I have a K5, my want for a 5N will be less a I won't have the money to spend. Since the repair of my K20D is holding up my decision, that get me thinking. If the 5N can actually replace a big percentage of the functionality and use of a K5, I will be thinking to give up on the K5 upgrade and get a 5N to pair with my old K20D and share some primes in between.

I am mumbling as you all can tell. The reason is simple -- I currently don't have a single digital body and I can't think and walk straight.

Thanks again,
Hin

[hinman]

The more I look for information, the more I am impressed with 5N. I especially like its performance with non-Sony primes. I see quite a number of outstanding photos here and that in Flickr in this link

• sony nex-5n - Flickr: Search

I can't argue with myself in taking the 5N instead of k5 upgrade. But two dead Pentax bodies prompt me into thinking a bit different. If I get the 5N now, my chance of getting the K5 will be much less as I don't have the fund to buy both. And if my K20D come back with a $300 repair cost, I will likely decline the repair and I will have no dSLR at home. I thought about a used K7 body but I am fearful of the Shutter blur from 1/50 to 1/130 sec range with hand-held shots. Such is my dilemma to think over the choices and order of purchases.

And I have two more questions


1. About focusing on LCD with manual glass

I want to learn more about the ease of focusing on manual lenses. In the posted video, do I see it right when focus is obtained, some of object in focus seem to appear in red color, is that so?

I ask this because I have poor eye sight with astigmatism that I sometime need to take off my class to see near object such as reading a newspaper or book. I have no problem in working with PC monitor but I do have serious problem in reading with books. I already have a bi-focal glass but I still find the need to take off my glass for critical reading.


2. About the kit lens

I am quite pleased to see many good photos of the 16mm f/2.8 pancake. I will imagine the combo to be like a X100 in traveling light with no lens change. Do you find it outstanding in your field use. I see quite a lot of good landscape photos with the combo. What are the flaws that you find so far with the pancake lens?

The 18-55mm kit lens seem bulky in comparison to the thin body of 5N. Do you use the kit lens often and do you like the kit lens with 5N performance.

Thanks again,
Hin

[rawr]

I can't speak about the 5N, but I can comment in relation to the NEX5, which also supports focus peaking.

I also have poor eyesight and using manual glass (using focus peaking or not) on the NEX is something of a hassle, especially in bright daylight, where the screen gets really hard to see. A loupe might solve that issue in daylight but it adds more bulk. In more subdued light manual focussing is much easier. Manual focussing via NEX for some subjects (eg birds, sports, other dynamic subjects) can be really hard too.

On the NEX5, the 16mm kit is OK, but it does have weaknesses - not terribly sharp in the centre, soft at the edges, and some vignetting. DxO and LR do a creditable job addressing most of those issues. I would, however, hesitate to use it for landscape and architectural work, as you do get noticeable geometric distortions (see below - these are correctable if you have the right software, but it's a hassle). But since I am not much of a pixel peeper I think it is a perfectly usable little lens.


St Patricks Church at dusk

The 18-55 kit is optically superior to the 16 pancake. Very much sharper in the centre, quite good to the edge, less vignetting. It is a very useful walk about lens, but yes indeed the NEX5 is not very compact once you have that lens on it. With the 16mm the NEX5 is almost pocketable, but not with the 18-55.

[deadwolfbones]

The 16/2.8 is ok for me but not great. I got it because I wanted to have at least one AF lens and the 18-55 seems ridiculously big for me.

I got the EVF because the screen was pretty much impossible for me to use with manual lenses in bright light. The EVF is very good for what it is--not too big, pivots up to vertical, nice resolution and fps--and makes the 5N a complete camera in my opinion.

[hinman]

Thank you for the important inputs. The EVF cost another $3?? but I agree that for critical focusing, that is a good option to have especially when manual lenses are used. But the extra cost make it like a $900+ body only camera and I have to take that into consideration. The cost on 5N + 18-55 + 16 + EVF + adapter(s) will wipe out my current saved fund for a k5 upgrade.

The kit lens appears to be bulky but I think the overall weight is still very appealing for lightweight in actual field use. Please correct me if that is not the case.

If I give up the upgrade of K5 and go for a used K7 and I do have the spare money to consider the 5N in steps with EVF purchase later as an add-on when fund allows. However, the K7 with shutter blur in low shutter range from 1/50 to 1/130 sec still concerns me the most.

Thanks,
Hin

[JHD]

I got the EVF because the screen was pretty much impossible for me to use with manual lenses in bright light. The EVF is very good for what it is--not too big, pivots up to vertical, nice resolution and fps--and makes the 5N a complete camera in my opinion.

Have you tried setting the LCD brightness to "Sunny weather"?

With the UWA converter, the 16mm lens performs much better.

[ltdstar]

Hinman, you can save quite a bit by buying the NEX5 or even the NEX3. With updated firmware you have access to peaking and such to aid manual focus. I love my NEX 3 and NEX 5.

Here is a couple pictures NEX-5 with the SMC Takumar 55/1.8 on it. Taken with an NEX-3 and 35/1.7 c-mount lens:



and here is one with a C-mount 35mm f1.7 (around $30 or so on ebay):

---

Last edited by ltdstar; 11-06-2011 at 11:26 PM.

[tsammyc]

ISO800 with EA2/70-400 at 600mm EFL

[jpzk]

So, out of curiosity, and because I have not read the entire thread:

I want to try out my bro's NEX & with MY lenses ...

What does it take (adapter, etc ...) to get a K-mount lens on the NEX 7 and keep the automatism of the said lenses? Ex.: mounting an FA 43 Ltd on the NEX 7, do you need just an adapter?

Thanks.

JP

[tsammyc]

If you are using K-mount lenses with aperture control on the lens e.g., FA31, then you need a $20 adapter from eBay. If you want to use the DA lenses with no aperture control, you need a slightly more expensive adapter (e.g. Kipon) with aperture control on the adapter (about $70). Most modes like Aperture and Shutter priority work fine, but you lose autofocus.

[jpzk]

If you are using K-mount lenses with aperture control on the lens e.g., FA31, then you need a $20 adapter from eBay. If you want to use the DA lenses with no aperture control, you need a slightly more expensive adapter (e.g. Kipon) with aperture control on the adapter (about $70). Most modes like Aperture and Shutter priority work fine, but you lose autofocus.

Thanks for the quick reply.

One more question: if I get the "more expensive" (Kipon) adapter, can I then use both the FA AND DA-lenses-without- aperture-ring and still keep AF, or would I have to stack both adapters?

JP

[ltdstar]

No AF on adapters, only lens adapter that support AF for NEX is from SONY for alpha DSLRs lens.

[deadwolfbones]

If you are using K-mount lenses with aperture control on the lens e.g., FA31, then you need a $20 adapter from eBay. If you want to use the DA lenses with no aperture control, you need a slightly more expensive adapter (e.g. Kipon) with aperture control on the adapter (about $70). Most modes like Aperture and Shutter priority work fine, but you lose autofocus.

Not quite true.

There are $25 adapters from RainbowImaging on eBay that offer aperture control for DA lenses.

edit: see here.

[hinman]

Not quite true.

There are $25 adapters from RainbowImaging on eBay that offer aperture control for DA lenses.

edit: see here.

Do you know how much light is lost with the adapter? Is it 1 stop or more? This is not to say bad things about the adapter but it is expected with the added distance.

And when a DA lens without aperture ring is used, how do you set different aperture? Is there a ring for you to guess/turn/adjust for the actual aperture.

One last question is on how well the Sony NEX-5N serves as a lightweight and compact traveling camera. It is by no means a point & shoot. How will it look like when placing next to a Fuji X10, Panasonic LX-5 or the like in higher rank p&s. With the 16mm pancake, it definitely looks small. How compact is it when used with kit lens in 18-55 and 55-200. The styling in Sony is not something that I prefer and it is definitely not my favorite. The thin body is designed well but when the lens are put together, they don't seem to match up in terms of balance of look and styling. But in terms of picture taking with good quality, I have my highest respect for Sony to use the better aps-c sensor.

Thanks,
Hin

[deadwolfbones]

Do you know how much light is lost with the adapter? Is it 1 stop or more? This is not to say bad things about the adapter but it is expected with the added distance.

And when a DA lens without aperture ring is used, how do you set different aperture? Is there a ring for you to guess/turn/adjust for the actual aperture.

One last question is on well the Sony NEX-5N serves as a lightweight and compact traveling camera. It is by no means a point & shoot. How will it look like when placing next to a Fuji X10, Panasonic LX-5 or the like in higher rank p&s. With the 16mm pancake, it definitely looks small. How compact is it when used with kit lens in 18-55 and 55-200. The styling in Sony is not something that I prefer and it is definitely not my favorite. The thin body is designed well but when the lens are put together, they don't seem to match up in terms of balance of look and styling. But in terms of picture taking with good quality, I have my highest respect for Sony to use the better aps-c sensor.

Thanks,
Hin

As far as I know, no light is lost. All the adapter does is make the lens sit at the same registration distance as it would on a K-mount camera. It's basically a big extension tube.

When a DA lens is used there's a ring on the adapter that moves the aperture lever. It doesn't precisely correspond to the stops on the lens itself, so you're kind of guessing at how much you're stopping down (a little, a bit more, a lot, a whole lot, etc).

I've never used any of those high-end P&S cams or the 18-55 or 55-200 lenses, so I can't really answer the last question. With the 16/2.8 it's small, but still not exactly pocketable (except in a jacket pocket or something).