Sony NEX 5 hands-on (size, form, burst)

[noodlehaus]

Saw this video on youtube.

YouTube - Sony Alpha NEX-5 first hands-on (Greek)

The camera does look very small. And what's crazy is how fast it is in burst mode.

 

[Bokeh Diem]

Some amazing stuff there. I just don't get the lens and cam connection.

Bokeh Diem

 

[OzRay]

That's the first time that I've really got an appreciation of the actual size of the body. I did a comparison and it's only a fraction larger than an LX2/3. I'm not sure, but to me, that is getting a little too small for such a camera.

Cheers

Ray

 

[cosinaphile]

the body ands lenses have an awkward relationship,

if sony could accomplish this, then they were fools for not including an evf built in a small flash and a wheel for people who might actually want to do manual input in a body the
size of the gf 1 sony never gets it right imho

with an 18 mm flange to sensor distance, a sony to leica mount for 100 bucks is easy
built in evf and small flash .with normal body size and a price of 1000 bucks?? they would have sold 10 million cameras instantly ,
instead of the 10 million they hope to sell over the life of the 2 models at 549 to 699 USD

clueless

 

[cosinaphile]

but the lenses look beautiful , machined alluminum ...... olympus are you listening?

 

[OzRay]

I agree, they went for the smallest possible body, but they could just as easily have produced a Pen sized body with a built in EVF etc and claimed the high ground. Now it gives Olympus/Panasonic time to do just that and trump anything Sony can come up with in the next iteration. If Sony can make the body so small, then it should take little effort to produce a Pen sized one with intergral EVF and all the other bits and bobs the E-PL1 now has. But then, I think Sony sees these sorts of cameras only of interest to amateurs.

Cheers

Ray

 

[kahren]

there is nex7 that's supposed to come out later, lets hope it has a slim high res evf 1.5mp+ and built in epl-1 style flash. are you listening sony?

 

[Iconindustries]

Yeah it's strange hey, Apple have even put a flash in their next iphone and yet a dedicated camera doesn't even have one. Gee if only i were a designer.....


Better still i wonder if we could get Jonathan Ives from Apple to design a camera. Wouldn't that be something to behold.

 

[OzRay]

Better still i wonder if we could get Jonathan Ives from Apple to design a camera. Wouldn't that be something to behold.

Yeah, and it wouldn't have a replaceable battery and you could only process photos through iPhoto, or such, and every photo you take would require approval from Apple.

Cheers

Ray

 

[Iconindustries]

Hey ozzie Apple aren't that bad man. Wouldn't worry me having to use iphoto and the batteries are 'tagged' as user non-replacable but I've taken the back of my macbook pro a couple a times to check it out and the battery is easily accessed.

Haha, approval from Apple, it's funny but i don't really worry about that. Hasn't caused me problems yet. In the case of your personal information being exploited just use Facebook. Heck, in an unstable world we have it would only take a communistic government to pay FB an ex amount of $$ and 'bling' 400 million people are recored in the Sultans book.


BTW Apple did produce 2 different model cameras way,way back but i'm having trouble trying to track their names down.

Sorry to hijack the thread but i got excited because this was my 200th post;-)

 

[OzRay]

As an owner of absolutely nothing Apple, and unlikely ever to do so, I understand.

Cheers

Ray

 

[noodlehaus]

I love Apple's macbooks and iphone. But for cameras, I like them classic looking, not sleek and smooth and shiny

 

[andyw]

I think that Sony is rather cool. Burst mode is amazing, built in Auto stitch (Sweep Panorama) is amazing and auto HDR is really good plus APS-C sensor......what a camera! BUT what's the IQ like? HD movies look awesome but not seen any image examples yet. so going to search now...............

Found a few pre production images on Flikr and they look pretty good but not outstanding so will have to wait till they get out there into the hands of the people who can put it through it's paces.

Camera looks fugly but functional and the APS-C sensor is very tempting! BUT does it have a place on this forum?

 

[nokiamia]

the technological breakthroughs from Sony are amazing since they pop their head into the DSLR world. The list goes on and on... introducing sub-$400 entry-level DSLR, the best live-view implementation on a DSLR, 'affordable' full-frame DSLR... and now, a camera with a DSLR-like IQ packed with features that will make other DSLR wish that they were born as a Sony. Too bad the design is arrgh!

 

[OzRay]

One thing I found out today was that 7fps burst mode is in a reduced image size, not the full 14MP. Funny that some things like this are overlooked. What else has been overlooked?

...typical consumer-marketing strategy, as if they were talking about a compact camera. So much so that, for instance, when they mentioned the number of frames per second, they forgot to mention that the cameras can capture the maximum of 7 fps only with severely reduced resolution.

The Online Photographer: Sony NEX-5 Hands On

Cheers

Ray

 

[Pelao]

The Sony's appear to be pretty good cameras, but the limitations for certain types of photographers are clear.

For those not interested in fast, easy control of an array of settings, and for whom a limited lens collection is fine, these cameras are perhaps a good choice.

As DSLR prices have come down in recent years I believe a large chunk of market has purchased one in the hope of getting better images, and perhaps more flexibility. Yet they don't use the full capability, leaving the cameras on Auto. For this market, I feel the Sony's are a great option: small, probably good image quality and easy controls.

As software improves, the reality is that in many, if not most, instances a camera like this will work for just about anyone.

A NYT review puts the Sony's broadly ahead of the pack, but of course thats for consumers.

State of the Art - Sony?s Entry in the Big Sensor-Small Camera Race - NYTimes.com

 

[Pelao]

Yeah, and it wouldn't have a replaceable battery and you could only process photos through iPhoto, or such, and every photo you take would require approval from Apple.

LOL.

I for one, do appreciate that where Apple is anal is around the user experience. Their whole bitch-fest around Flash is strictly for mobile devices, where Flash, even the latest version, hogs power and battery life, for no advantage.

 

[hanzo]

LOL.

I for one, do appreciate that where Apple is anal is around the user experience. Their whole bitch-fest around Flash is strictly for mobile devices, where Flash, even the latest version, hogs power and battery life, for no advantage.

Well... we'll see about that when Android 2.2 is out... with FLASH

 

[Pelao]

Well... we'll see about that when Android 2.2 is out... with FLASH

True.

I suspect that the reality is that Flash has really had it's day. In order for something to survive over time in the development world it needs to be responsive, flexible and to add value. Flash is being overtaken by other standards that are more open, and therefore more flexible, and simply consume less power.

Handheld devices are small computers and they will be asked to do more and more. Video chat is now coming, and if this is popular will drain batteries, encouraging a move away from power demanding options such as Flash.

Android 2.2 looks awesome, and I bet to get the best out of it Flash will fade away.

Flash for mobile devices simply does not offer any advantages. Android and iPhone OS simply don't need it, and should not let it hold them back.

Interesting comments in this report on heat and battery challenges with Flash on Android 2.2:

Android 2.2 'Froyo' beta hands-on: Flash 10.1, WiFi hotspots, and some killer benchmark scores -- Engadget

 

[Pelao]

Interesting field report from Michael Reichmann
Sony NEX-5 First Impressions Review