Sony nex7 vs nex 5n worth 700 more

Panther

Howdy All,

Have been watching and thinking about going to a smaller camera
for short outings and all around shooting, and the new mirrorless/interchangeable
lens cameras have really captured my attention.

I've been really intrigued by the new Sony's, I started out with the 717,
and 828 years and years ago, and have to say from 0-20 feet in optimum
lighting they've still been hard to beat, even with my newer more expensive
Nikon and glass.

I have seen a tremendous
amount of stunning images coming out of the 3N, 5, and 5N, and
had originally thought that I'd just wait for the NEX7 to come out, but
with the price tag being roughly double of the 5N's 699 price tag with a
kit lens has me wondering if the newer one has that many new features
to be worth that amount. They both have the same exact sensor, but the
newer NEX7 they've pushed up to 24MP, where as the 5N is 16MP which I
think hold a lot of data and dynamic range.

I have plans to buy adapters for Minolta/Sony lenses and also for
my Nikon Lenses. This would be a really wonderful camera to play
and experiment with. I've heard a lot of people say the same thing,
and then be so enamored with it, that they sold off their bigger rigs.
I don't have plans on doing that, but would be kind of nice to have a lighter
kit, and also have a little more money to put towards the New D700 replacement.

I'd appreciate ya'lls thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations.

FlyNavy

You might find a better response to your question here.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1042

ziggy53

I've been looking at the Sony NEX cameras myself. To be honest, I've been looking for an older and used NEX 5, or maybe a refurbished unit. The advantages of the NEX 5N vs the NEX 5 are not that much in image quality, until you hit ISO 6400, where the 5N is demonstrably better.

If I were shooting Nikon, I would first be looking at something like the D5100 to build into a lighter kit. While the D5100 has the capability of producing very similar images to the D7000, it is quite a bit lighter, and a little (teeny) bit smaller. The fact that it can use all of the DX and FX "F-Mount" lenses, and Nikon compatible flashes, are major selling points.

While the Sony NEX cameras are pretty diminutive, it's still an APS-C format body, meaning that lenses are not going to be smaller than equivalent lenses from anyone in that sensor size, meaning that your overall kit size and weight will also be similar to any APS-C format kit.

I must admit that I am quite spoiled by accurate and fast autofocus and autoexposure in a modern dSLR. I find it very hard to use a manual focus and manual aperture lens anymore (like you would experience with most of the lens adapters for the NEX bodies.). I pretty much reserve that exercise to specialty lenses, like a super-telephoto or a fisheye lens; something that I only use sparingly. For everything else I strongly prefer and strongly recommend lens automation, so that I (and you) can concentrate on the subject matter and "creative" settings of the camera.

Internaut

The NEX7 comes with a fairly unique sensor (shared with one other camera, I believe) that may well be the best APS-C sensor money can buy at the moment. However, you (the user) is largely responsible for working out how to get the best from it (i.e. shoot raw, but also understand, for example, that you can get ISO performance on par with Sony's superlative 16MP sensor with some experimentation and downscaling of the image). It's worth reading the reviews/discussion on both Dpreview and Luminous Landscape. I guess I'm trying to say getting the best you can get from the 24MP sensor is not as straightforward, albeit highly doable, compared to the 16MP model.

With regards to buying an older NEX5....... Yes, I've been tempted but bear in mind Sony have worked on the usability of the 5N + possibly the best optional EVF you can get at the moment.

I don't see myself buying a NEX (but that could change in a moment of madness in an airport tax free shop) but IMHO, Sony's sensor R&D,and the dividends it has paid, are remarkable.

Panther

Howdy All,

Thanks so very much for the very insightful replies and suggestions.

Lot's of good points and ideas, still on the fence, and I certainly understand about
the loss of the Auto-Features, which as I've gotten older really have enjoyed, but
then again, I've really been bitten by the Retro images that I've seen lately, and
also get back to "Old School Shooting"

Appreciate all the help and ideas!!!