[Christine Tham]

Sorry for not posting for a while, but I finally took the plunge and bought a Sony NEX-5N, and have been enjoying it immensely.

Just before I bought it, there were reports of a clicking sound in video, but I decided that is not a critical issue for me, and bought it anyway. Haven't really regretted it - there is a clicking sound as I move the camera around, but since I don't shoot a lot of video, and if I did I would replace the soundtrack it did not worry me.

I mainly bought it because I recently bought an HX7v and liked it so much I decided maybe the NEX series is worth a second look.

It's quite easy to use, and image quality is at least as good as the K-5. The kit lens is surprisingly good, quite usable.

Out of the currrent (and newly announced) lens range, I'll probably buy all of them apart from the 18-200mm which is humongous and won't suit me. The new primes look quite attractive and hopefully have good image quality. I think I will buy the new telephoto zoom as well and wait for a telephoto prime.

Now that I am used to the NEX-5N, I am finding the K-5 way too bulky for me. The K-5 has better response and handling, and much more usable continuous mode. But I am also planning to buy the new Nikon 1 series - that will satisfy my continuous needs.

But I am also thinking if Canon releases a mid priced full frame next year (5D Mark III or 6D???) I may buy that and start investing in Canon lenses. If that happens, I may end up using the K-5 less and less.

So, bottom line is I'm moving away from exclusively Pentax to probably maintaining 4 different camera systems (Nikon 1/CX, NEX/E mount, K-mount and Canon full frame/EF mount).

[kenafein]

That sounds expensive 4 systems. If you shoot video with the nex you can always use an external Mic. I am waiting to see how the new NX versions pan out and to see if Pentax comes out with one.

[tsammyc]

Yeah, the on-camera mikes have pretty poor stereo separation being so close together anyway. The main problem is the 5N only has one accessory port so if you put the mike on, you can't put the flash or EVF.

Christine, get an adapter for your PK lenses. All of them work well with the 5N, particularly the DA40 pancake. Super sharp compared to the E mount lenses. Also recommend the EVF when you are shooting with Pentax lenses. Very easy to nail the manual focus.

Every time I use my K5 now, I feel like getting rid of it due to the weight.

[sjwaldron]

Wait, I thought you wanted a Q?

The Sony mirrorless system seems pretty good. Hope you enjoy it.

[Christine Tham]

Wait, I thought you wanted a Q?

I did, and got tired of waiting for it to become available (it has only just started showing up in shops in the last few days)

And now that the Nikon 1 has been announced, I'll probably buy the J1 instead - that looks like it's a better fit to my requirements, and even comes in pink!

I did try out the Q yesterday, and whilst I really like the size, I don't like the sluggish AF and slow write times. I have been playing around with the new mirrorless cameras (I have been testing the GF3, E-PL3, NEX-5N fairly extensively in the last few weeks to try and decide between them) and all of them have better AF more sophistication than the Q.

I did buy a PK adapter for the NEX from ebay - looking forward to trying out my FA lenses on the NEX and playing with the focus peaking feature.

This is a good indication of low light performance (shot in JPEG):


And this is a cropped shot showing the resolution of the kit lens (it is not nearly long enough for me - need to get the 55-210 zoom pronto!):


High ISO fast shutter speed in low light (the fishing cat was behind a thick glass that added a strong greenish tinge that I had to correct during post processing):


It's fast enough for street shooting:

[Clicker]

Looks like a good purchase.

[dylansalt]

Not good, not good - you should have bought the Q - after all the grief you gave us in another thread re: the Q you started :-) lol

[Christine Tham]

Not good, not good - you should have bought the Q - after all the grief you gave us in another thread re: the Q you started :-) lol

It's not a mutually exclusive purchase. I have decided to be promiscous in my old age.

I can still see myself buying the Q - the form factor is still appealing. If Pentax fixes the 20MB raw file size and improve write speed, the camera can work for me. I can see the price of the Q dropping to below $500 next year.

But the reality is these things are so cheap they are virtually impulse purchases. I can't believe how inexpensive photography has become as a hobby. I'll probably go out shooting with a film camera this weekend, and I was reminded how expensive film is.

By the way, this photo (taken yesterday during lunchtime) shows how easy it is to use peak focusing with a manual focus lens (Pentax A50mm f1.7 lens with adapter to NEX-5N) - I focused on the woman on the right as she descended down the escalator - manual focusing is a joy and very efficient on this camera:

[kenafein]

I can't believe how inexpensive photography has become as a hobby.

I'm glad I didn't get into photography during the expensive days, because I am constantly amazed by just how expensive it is. I would love to get one of these 5Ns though. Just waiting a little bit longer to see what everyone else comes up with.

[Christine Tham]

Pictures of my NEX-5N system.

The camera with the new E-mount 30mm macro lens:


My E-mount lens collection:


All the lenses I can use with the NEX-5N, with the K-mount and M42 adapters:

[JHD]

How are you liking that 55210? ...was also thinking of adding both WA adapters for the 16.

[Christine Tham]

How are you liking that 55210? ...was also thinking of adding both WA adapters for the 16.

Amazing clarity and bokeh for a consumer grade lens - well worth it, may well become my favourite lens (I'm already liking it more than the DA* 50-135mm)

These are all taken at Taronga Zoo yesterday:

[Frogfish]

I am a strong supporter of the NEX 5n and am really considering purchasing it ... but to say it's IQ is at least as good as the K5 (meaning it may be better) is not only misleading but clearly wrong.

The K5 is well ahead in DR (14.1 EV vs 12.7 EV) but also high ISO, Noise & Colour Depth (though the last two are close), and of course the in-camera SR is going to make a huge difference (especially with such as small camera and often lenses that are really too big for the camera, making it unstable), as will the high ISO in low light. Of course if you're not going to print at large sizes then there won't be much difference in shots taken in decent light.

Anyway I look forward to seeing lots of shots from you with this camera .. if that doesn't tip me over the edge nothing will !

[Emacs]

The K5 is well ahead in DR (14.1 EV vs 12.7 EV) but also high ISO, Noise & Colour Depth (though the last two are close), and of course the in-camera SR is going to make a huge difference (especially with such as small camera and often lenses that are really too big for the camera, making it unstable), as will the high ISO in low light. Of course if you're not going to print at large sizes then there won't be much difference in shots taken in decent light.

The difference is too small, the sensor size is the same. So, you only can see some K-5 advantage at the scenes with hard light contrast. The real difference will be negligible and you won't see it at any print size using the same lens. Thus they are lenses which have the most impact on the IQ comparison between nex 5n and K-5. But you have much wider choice with nex, and many of lenses available will blow pentax counterpart away, especially at wide end (new e-mount cz 24mm, m-mount biogons, voigtlander heliars — they are not very expensive and work ok with 5n).

[Christine Tham]

I am a strong supporter of the NEX 5n and am really considering purchasing it ... but to say it's IQ is at least as good as the K5 (meaning it may be better) is not only misleading but clearly wrong.

The K5 is well ahead in DR (14.1 EV vs 12.7 EV) but also high ISO, Noise & Colour Depth (though the last two are close), and of course the in-camera SR is going to make a huge difference (especially with such as small camera and often lenses that are really too big for the camera, making it unstable), as will the high ISO in low light. Of course if you're not going to print at large sizes then there won't be much difference in shots taken in decent light.

Anyway I look forward to seeing lots of shots from you with this camera .. if that doesn't tip me over the edge nothing will !

Image quality (IQ) isn't just about numbers on an arbitrary site (DxO) - it's about many things. Ultimately it's about the level of satisfaction of the photos that one take, and that's highly subjective.

I could argue about many things, including the relative strength/weakness of the anti-aliasing filter, the accuracy of the AF (the NEX-5N is better than the K-5, except in very low contrast situations), the usability of the body (the K-5 is better in terms of controls, but the 5N is more usable for me in some hard to shoot conditions) ...

But ultimately, I get a level of satisfaction from the end results that are at least as good as the pictures I get from the K-5.

If you want to check out my photos, just click on the Picasa link in my signature. I have already posted hundreds of shots taken on the 5N, including several taken on the inaugural Google+ Sydney photowalk (I seem to be the only photographer there with a 5N, but I noticed a few people were checking me out - someone even posted a photo of me on Google+!)