Sony Alpha NEX-3 Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera w/18-55mm Lens (Silver)- 14.2 Mpix Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm experienced with 35mm SLRs and Digital Point & Shoot cameras, and I recently bought this camera (Sony NEX-3 with 18-55mm lens) because I have been disappointed with the quality of photos I can achieve with Digital Point & Shooters. Having been originally spoiled by my Nikkormat and Minolta 35mm cameras I found myself taking fewer and fewer pictures on my small Digital cameras simply because the pictures were just OK. So, with some important life events coming in the next couple of years I decided to upgrade, yet I dreaded the thought of carrying around a bulky and heavy DSLR.
The NEX-3 has solved this problem for me: Great pictures, excellent indoor pictures often with no flash needed, and much better portability than a DSLR.
Before purchasing I read the reviews and noted some were especially critical of the user interface Sony designed for the NEX series, so when I went to the store to try one I was expecting the worst. Instead, I found the NEX to have an extremely elegant and seductive interface, much better than any of the Digital Point & Shoot cameras I've had. I repeat, the interface is actually seductive. Now, if you compare the interface to a DSLR you will immediately see that the controls are not always visible and at-hand, they must be pulled up on the screen via the menu buttons. Therefore, I do not recommend this as a "downgrade from DSLR" camera until you have tried one in person. However, with my SLR experience I was pleased to see the animated representation of the P-A-S-M knob. And once "A" (aperture priority) is chosen, for example, the aperture adjustment is directly available as part of the viewfinder display. The interface is immediately recognizable to anyone with DSLR/SLR experience.
The second thing that struck me while testing the camera at the store was how fast it is. It powers up very quickly, and the delay between shots is better than any digital point & shoot I've seen.
Based on these in-store observations and the consistently strong reviews regarding picture quality, I decided to purchase the NEX.
There are several cool and innovative features on the NEX that I've not encountered before, and I'll mention the two I think most people will find useful.
- The panoramic photo feature will knock your socks off. The camera automatically captures a series of images while you pan from one side to the other (or up-down) and then stitches the images together into a single panoramic photo. This performs very well, and is very useful for many outdoor scenes.
- The integration with Eye-Fi wireless SD memory cards makes for a very nice automated transfer of your photos to your computer and to online sharing sites. When I'm shooting in my house the photos are uploaded right then, while I'm shooting. If I'm away from home then when I return I simply turn on the camera and the photos automatically upload and after a minute of idle time the camera shuts off. If you buy a Sony NEX I strongly recommend you consider getting an Eye-Fi wireless SD card.
Upon buying the camera I left the next day for a trip to Colorado for a wedding and to visit friends and family. Everyone that saw the camera was enthralled with it. My daughters immediately took to it and snapped many excellent photos using it. My wife's reaction during the return trip: "That camera has already paid for itself!"
Other details:
- I'm getting about 300 pictures on a battery charge, and will probably purchase an additional battery within 6 months or so.
- The high resolution view screen is part of the secret to liking the camera. You get immediate satisfaction from seeing the excellent picture quality.
- The flash is workable but will not impress anyone with DSLR experience. I hope Sony comes out with an improved version.
- If Sony introduces a normal lens (30mm) it will be tempting, since it may allow the camera to be easily carried in a coat pocket.
- I don't take a lot of videos, but the NEX-3 video is quite good and will suffice for any purpose I will ever have.
I highly recommend this camera for someone upgrading from a Digital Point & Shoot.


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The performance of a DSLR without the size and weight. The NEX-3 stands apart as the world's smallest interchangeable lens camera.3 Experience gorgeous HD movies,1 astounding low-light pictures, continuous shooting up to 7 fps, incredible panorama shots, and Live View on a tilting 3" LCD4.

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Sony Alpha NEX NEX5K/S Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lens (Silver) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have owned the Olympus EP-1, Panasonic GF1, also have a Nikon d90 and canon s90 so I have seen a lot of pictures from all these cameras. First I would like to say the MENU on the NEX is actually pretty GOOD. Yes, like everybody has said it would have been nice to have a dedicated button for iso, w balance etc..BUT it takes literally 1 second and you can change those settings, what's all the fuss about??? I actually find the Nex's menu LESS complicated than the EP1 that drove ME nuts! So..to all afraid of this camera because so many reviews mention the menu is horrible..to them I say what???
What is blowing me away most is the low noise at high iso plus the overall picture quality. I am one of those DSLR people who wants DSLR type quality in the smallest package possible. I admit I am NOT a pro photographer but I can change every setting on my D90 and I know how to go deep into DSLR settings and what they mean. I say this ONLY because the Nex-5 seems aimed at point and shooters moving up the quality ladder but supposedly don't know all that much about settings. Yes, the Panasonic GF1 and Olympus E-P1 seem to give you a "little more" manual control than this NEX-5 does..but it's pretty close..re: controls.
What the NEX-5 does in my opinion is especially in raw format Blow the doors off the GF1 and EP1 as to how much detail you can work with. On the GF1 in raw..often I STILL couldn't get skin tones to look right, shadows in lower light always had too much noise..and I ended up with too many grainy pictures. I am simply blown away with the NEX as to how much detail you can get back using raw...where the jpg may look like a total loss..you can often still get a great pic using raw.
For the point and shoot people..the raw conversion software that comes with the Sony is actually VERY good, powerful and EASY to use. Overall this is a SMALL camera that pretty much takes pictures in the same general ballpark as the better dslrs in my opinion. I think this may actually have less noise than my Nikon d90.
What I don't like..manually you can only choose iso 200, 400, 800, 1600 etc. I prefer a bit more control ala the GF1 where you can choose say a 640, 1000, iso or 1200 iso etc. That being said if you choose Auto iso the NEX Will at times choose isos such as 640, 1000 etc..not available manually.
Some of the gimmicks? like panorama or twilight handheld shooting where the NEX shoots about 5 pictures within about a second actually WORK and I think at times "these can give you pictures you simply can NOT get on a gf1, ep1" etc.
One other thing I am not thrilled about is overall color saturation is bit too punchy or high. This is not a problem as it takes a sec IF you want a bit less color saturation in your pics with any photo editor.
The NEX feels great in your hand. It feels solid as a brick YET seems to weigh much less than the gf1 and ep1 making the Nex easier to take with you!
There is no perfect camera and never will be. In my opinion though..if you don't need to change settings every 2 seconds..OVERALL this NEX-5 may be your best choice right now as far as mirrorless cameras go. Don't forget one huge reason the GF1/EP1 look so much better than point and shoot cams is the sensor size. Well the full sized dslr sensor in the NEX is MUCH bigger than micro Four..hence the lower noise...better overall IQ in my opinion.
UPDATE: The menu system never really bothered me, however, after updating to latest version 03 this Nex-5 is even WAY WAY better. The menu system now is downright EXCELLENT in my opinion. I am constantly blown away by how great this LITTLE camera is. What a WONDERFUL camera overall!!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony Alpha NEX NEX5K/S Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lens (Silver)

The performance of a DSLR, in about half the size and weight.5 The NEX-5 is the interchangeable lens camera that goes wherever you do. Enjoy Full HD 1080/60i movies,2 astounding low-light pictures, continuous shooting up to 7 fps, incredible panorama shots, and Live View on a tilting 3.0-inch6 LCD.

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Sony Alpha NEX NEX5K/B Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lens (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)People, I LOVE this camera. I bought it thinking there was an 85% chance I was going to return it, but am happy to tell you that as soon as I uploaded my first pictures, I was smitten. I was most worried about picture quality, because I had previously owned a Sony a200 and a700, and ended up selling both for a Canon and Nikon, because the picture quality just wasn't up to snuff. My most recent camera was a D300s and I would say that the nex5 performs almost as well as it in most situations and even better in a few. And the nex5 video blows the D300s out of the water! Obviously everyone has different needs and preferences from their camera so all I can do is tell you what my needs were and why the nex5 is so great for them.
The picture quality was the most important thing for me, which was more than adequate so the next most important criteria was the LCD. The LCD on my D300s was a complete joke, as I couldn't see squat on that thing in even moderate sunlight. This was extremely frustrating but since it was based on an OVF anyway, I just dealt with it. But I started my photography in this digital age on a Canon S2IS which had a swivelling screen and full-time live-view, and honestly, I've missed that method of taking pictures ever since I moved up to dSLR's. The two things that I wanted most out of the LCD on the nex5 were adequate visibility in bright sunlight, and real-time exposure compensation, so that you know EXACTLY what your picture would look like before you take it. It passed both of these tests with flying colors. The second day I had it, my wife and I went fishing on the river, in the afternoon sun. Live view photography would have been impossible on my D300s but I had no problems with the nex5. Understand that it will get a little washed out, but I was still able to compose as well as I needed and set exposure almost spot on. When I got home and uploaded my pics, this was confirmed for me as they just looked amazing. The best part about it was knowing that I wouldn't have gotten any of those shots with my D300s, simply because I wouldn't have brought the dang thing because I already had a bunch of stuff to carry. The sony just fit in my pocket (cargo pocket, with 18-55) and was out of the way until needed.
The other great things about this little guy are the ISO performance, which is ridiculous (better than D300s) and the high-speed continuous mode. Just to be straight on this, it will take 7, full-resolution photos a second, but locks exposure and focus. If you want it to refocus and adjust exposure, the best it can do is about 2 1/2. Of course there's the panoramic mode (haven't tried it), HDR mode (don't like it), and twilight mode (don't like it). Oh yeah, and I love the detachable flash which is solid as a rock when attached, but since I hardly ever do flash-photography, I love to be able to get it out of the way for the majority of the time.
For me this is the best camera on the market right now. I tested it against the Lumix G2 and thought the picture quality is noticeably better on the Sony (I do think focus is faster on the G2 though - certainly a great camera too), not to mention the form factor is so much smaller! But, with all that said, I fully plan on selling it in the fall when the new batch of cameras come out because there are a few things that the nex5 doesn't have that I desperately want.
First of all, the menu sucks. There's no way around it - if you ever try to change the settings, you are going to be frustrated by it. I could live with that, but there are other things missing. As good as the LCD is, I really want an EVF, even if I have to have a slightly larger body. I also really need just a few more buttons, namely: ISO, Focus lock, AE lock, but I do like the minimalist approach, because I absolutely hate the millions of buttons that Canon and Nikon throw on their cameras. As I mentioned, the video is very good, and although it does have an exposure control, so you can increase or decrease the brightness by two stops at any time (kind of neat), I need full manual control over video. The only other things that I don't really like are just nagging things that I could live with, but I'm hoping will improve in my next purchase, they are: battery life, screen blackout, and shutter noise. Battery life goes really fast on this camera and spares are ridiculously priced at $70, but I can understand that it takes a lot of juice to run that screen, so I could live with it. The screen does black out when you take pictures for what seems just a hair too long. It's not terrible, and for a $700 camera it's actually very good, but it's just something that would bother me in the long run. The shutter is surprisingly loud. The first day I got it I took a picture of my wife taking a nap on the couch and it actually woke her up! I'm not saying it sounds like a freight train, but unfortunately, I love taking incognito pictures in crowded places and would definitely have to be a little more careful with this little guy.
So, all in all, this is my favorite camera I've ever owned. I mention that I plan on selling it only because I know that the evolution will be to bring more and more functions to this small sized, mirrorless style camera, otherwise I wouldn't. If I had to choose between every camera out there right now, I'd choose this one every time. But I'm keeping a keen eye out for the nex7 and gh2 that should be coming out this fall, and guess that one of those cameras will be pretty much perfect for me.
UPDATE
Now that they've started manufacturing adapters for the NEX, I got myself a Canon FD lens adapter which has really taken the camera to a whole new level. Understand that you will only have manual focus with any adapter but Sony makes it very easy by dedicating the bottom button to MF Assist which zooms in so you can make sure that your focus is sharp! Even though some of the lenses dwarf the tiny little NEX, it still handles very comfortably and efficiently. If you love this camera but are frustrated with the selection (or lack of) of lenses, check out the options on ebay - those old lenses are a real bargain now.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony Alpha NEX NEX5K/B Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lens (Black)

The performance of a DSLR, in about half the size and weight.5 The NEX-5 is the interchangeable lens camera that goes wherever you do. Enjoy Full HD 1080/60i movies,2 astounding low-light pictures, continuous shooting up to 7 fps, incredible panorama shots, and Live View on a tilting 3.0-inch6 LCD.

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Sony Alpha NEX NEX5A/S Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lens (Silver) Review

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(More customer reviews)OK - I just love new gadgets and technology. I had been using a D90 for nearly 2 years but upgraded to a D700 and use it for all of my heavy lifting photo shoots. (what a great camera). However, I wasn't using my D90 except on the rare occasion that I wanted to use two bodies on a shoot and used the D90 for my 70-300 lens for telephoto shots, giving me up to 450mm. OK, I digress.
I sold my D90 and bought the Sony NEX-5 (silver because I couldn't wait for the black one). I just bought the 16mm lens and will wait until later this fall when I hear they are coming out with a 18-300 E-type.
This is a really cool camera. I basically keep it in my pocket almost all the time. It is pretty bulky in my pocket ever with the smaller 16mm lens (and protective lens & cap). I know I have read some bad reviews about the menu system but it really only took me about 20 minutes to get used to it.
The focus ring kind of reminded me of my Blackberry when I had one.
It was a little slow to get used to not having a view finder but there is a great feature that you can use to help fine tune your focus (it only works with E type lends and not the A with adapter. You basically can get it to auto focus and then lightly touch the focus ring and it ZOOMS in to help you FINE TUNE the focus. If I knew how to upload some sample pics I would but trust me, the picture quality is great. There are just too many other features for me to comment on but I highly recommend this camera form not just a step up for an amature but a pro wold use it just like I try to do. I get a lot of great shots just because I have this camera buldging out of my pocket.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony Alpha NEX NEX5A/S Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lens (Silver)

The performance of a DSLR, in about half the size and weight.5 The NEX-5 is the interchangeable lens camera that goes wherever you do. Enjoy Full HD 1080/60i movies,2 astounding low-light pictures, continuous shooting up to 7 fps, incredible panorama shots, and Live View on a tilting 3.0-inch6 LCD.

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Sony SEL16F28 16mm f/2.8 Wide-Angle Lens for NEX Series Cameras Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this lens as part of Sony's special saving on bundle pricing with Nex-5. At first I was hesitant because of some reviews that i had read online about its poor IQ overall. Well, after using it and pixel peeping with the RAW image files i can say that this lens produced outstanding result. Sharpness is on par with Canon's 17-55mm 2.8 lens, which is saying a lot. There is definitely a jump in quality when you go from Sony's own 18-55mm kit lens with this one. This lens gives you a good idea what the Nex's APS-C sensor is capable of- a DLSR-like image quality without the bulk. I can't wait for the other E-mount lenses to come out.
So not only does this lens reduce the overall bulk of the Nex-5 camera system (can put in pockets more easily), it also gives you result that you will be proud of.
ps. low-light is impressive but i think it's combination of sony's low-light capable sensor and this lens' measly 2.8 aperture.

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Stylishly designed to match a NEX cameras, the SEL16F28 is an exceptionally portable and versatile lens that's perfect for both photos and video. This bright lens (16mm focal length, f/2.8 maximum aperture) offers a big, 24mm (35mm equivalent) wide angle and 83° field of view for outstanding low-light performance, and smooth, quiet AF (Auto Focus) operation.

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