Sony Alpha NEX-5 14.2 Megapixel Compact Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 16mm F2.8 E-mount Lens, Black

2012-04-29T21:00:00

GREAT PRODUCT AND SUPER SIZE/WEIGHT, ESPECIALLY FOR OUTDOORSMAN. REMOTE SHUTTER RELEASE IS A MUST, AS IS A TRIPOD OR SOME TYPE OF STABILIZATION FOR SHOOTING VIDEO. YOU DO NEED TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH THIS CAMERA, BUT IT WILL MAKE YOU LEAVE YOUR BIG DSLR AT HOME.

tak

2010-08-15T21:00:00

I purchased the Sony NEX-5 with 16mm f2.8 and it's hard for me to imagine getting great results out of it without some manipulation in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). The chromatic aberrations (CA) of the 16mm are so noticeable, particularly one-third in from the edges, especially if you're a "pixel-peeper" as I am, or do 16x20 inch prints, that it would be disturbing and annoying for some users who demand high quality. And if you enjoy shooting high-contrast subjects like I do it's vexing to see that using the RAW (Sony's proprietary ARW format) conversion with Sony's Image Data Converter Sr still produced a burnt-edge look to extreme highlights bordered by mid-tone tonalities (such as patches of bright sky next to leaves in shade); it was never a smooth transition. I did get outstanding results by shooting JPEGs at fine with in-camera Sharpening, and further manipulating in Adobe Camera Raw which easily corrected the CA. The 16x20 test prints were very sharp. (In-camera setting for Sharpness was +3, Contrast -1.) Contrast and color were excellent. All photos were taken in Aperture Priority; I've yet to use the camera on AUTO. I've noticed that the image-stabilization is NOT as good as the Olympus E-P2 although I did play with the Hand-Held Twilight and was impressed with the sharpness and lack of "noise" (grain). It may be that since Sony image-stabilization "Optical SteadyShot" is only built into a select number of lenses that the 16mm is one of those without. Another annoyance is going through menus just to change ISO or change from Autofocus to Manual. But the camera is really designed for people who want automation, not advanced photographers. The 16mm lens is very sharp in the center and soft in the corners even at f6.3, which according to many independent tests such as dpreview is the best correction for CA. It's still a bit disappointing at the edges. Apparently Sony does not do software/in-camera CA correction as does Panasonic with their G2 or G10 or Olympus. But in terms of a light-weight super compact (it's noticeably smaller than the Panasonic GF-1 and the Olympus E-PL1), high quality, APS-C sensor camera with a wide-angle lens, (producing 1080 HD video to boot!) the Sony NEX-5 with 16mm is amazing and hard to beat.

RICHARD R.