Originally posted by tsammyc I just received my Sony NEX 5N and it seems that Sony have improved the 16MP EXMOR sensor used in the K5. It's now 16.1MP rather than 16.2MP. I compared it to my outgoing NEX C3, which uses the older sensor and there is a difference. The following shot is a 100% crop of a vase & book. The top picture is from the NEX C3 and the bottom is from the NEX 5N both with the same Pentax FA77 lens at F1.8. Shutter speed was 1/25 s and ISO used was 3200. From my perspective, the new sensor is remarkable at ISO 3200 and still quite usable at ISO12800. The shots were in JPEG so there might be some impact from a new processor in the 5N as well. If the K5 replacement gets Sony's NEX 7 sensor, the KR replacement might get the 5N's.
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The first shot looks to me to be under-exposed compared to the second based upon the white portion of the shot. The exposure was the same, so this seems odd.
The second shot also looks over-sharpened to me and also seems to have had some serious NR applied in the processing (in-camera, apparently) as the artifacts in the smooth areas are quite noticeable.
It would be interesting to see a shot with more fine detail to compare.
I have a P&S with an Exmoor sensor, and I must say that the IQ impressed me enough to buy the first P&S I have even considered in years, so the technology has promise.
Ray