Just got a nex 5 on saturday and i fully suggest that if you are thinking of one is to try it to see if you do like it and just ignore this review whilst going to a 'proper' camera site for a more indepth one. The common theme for most reviews is to jump on the 'its not a DSLR' well it aint, it fills the gap that is between a point and shoot and a DSLR which is what i want and im very happy with. After 'READING' the manual the 'lack' of buttons isnt that 'horrendus' as everything you need or aloud to change is accessable from the dial in one click and its not that hard to change modes when you know where they are in the menu system. this is the only review that says the picture quality isnt good. i wonder if the reviewer is a cannon fanboi....
@Stormstrike as far as im aware almost all the reviews or the camera were done on prerealse cameras plus i think that some reviews are unfairly trying to compaire it to a DSLR when its obviously not. ill be interested to see what people think in 3 months time.
@sod DPreview has a review on a non-prerelease unit now. I think you are missing a few points. It is supposed to give you DSLR-like quality and flexibility, so of course people will compare it at least to some extent to a DSLR. While I do agree that the controls may not seem that horrible to you, and in fact to many other people, they are still bad. If you shoot Auto, controls don't matter. If you shoot PASM though, this thing is very badly done. Imagine someone starting with NEX - he must go through some really weird learning curve, just to find out how good DLSRs are in the end. If you make something between a P&S and a DSLR, then just simplify controls, make them more intuitive. Sony made them really not intuitive. Why? They have great interfaces on the A700/850/900 etc.
@Atkins as its says "The NEX-5 is a dramatic and original approach to camera design - the downside being that it can't fall back on years of evolutionary improvement.'" and "The images are up with the best in its class but the user experience is disappointing."
im not looking to make a living or a name with a camera just take decent (ish) pictures and videos with some control and a small size. this camera does this and its what sony were aiming for. i just aint waiting a possible 3 to 4 years before the next release thats all. as for user experience my sony is the japanese edition which doesnt have a language choice other than japanese so at the moment its making things a little slower. but i still like the camera. i had read the review before i got the camera.
@sod Ah, so you are in Japan? Me too. Still can't figure out why they don't put all languages. Look, I am not saying it is not a good camera. The camera is in fact great. And while the menu/buttons are usable, they could've >easily< been better. And I am basing this on my A700, the interface is great. Forget pro or not, they could've made it better with minimal resources and that is what I am bitching about. Otherwise I like it. Especially the build quality of those new lenses, all chrome, awesome. And there will be plenty of adapters for the NEX coming soon!
@Atkins I've heard that the duty-free shops in Akihabara or Den-den in Osaka are now selling the international versions, albeit at a 20,000円 premium over the domestic Japanese-only version. Just FYI.
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Just got a nex 5 on saturday and i fully suggest that if you are thinking of one is to try it to see if you do like it and just ignore this review whilst going to a 'proper' camera site for a more indepth one. The common theme for most reviews is to jump on the 'its not a DSLR' well it aint, it fills the gap that is between a point and shoot and a DSLR which is what i want and im very happy with.
After 'READING' the manual the 'lack' of buttons isnt that 'horrendus' as everything you need or aloud to change is accessable from the dial in one click and its not that hard to change modes when you know where they are in the menu system.
this is the only review that says the picture quality isnt good. i wonder if the reviewer is a cannon fanboi....
@sod
lets start a flamewar to justify our purchase....
@kazanski nope just dont like half assed reviews of a product done at a press review. oh wait its engadget....
@sod
Then don't read the reviews....
@kazanski
dont you mean dont read engadget?
im only really here for the apple flame wars it gets amusing at times
@sod
dpreview also says it sucks. It had a worse result than any m43 they tested.
@Stormstrike
as far as im aware almost all the reviews or the camera were done on prerealse cameras plus i think that some reviews are unfairly trying to compaire it to a DSLR when its obviously not. ill be interested to see what people think in 3 months time.
@sod DPreview has a review on a non-prerelease unit now.
I think you are missing a few points. It is supposed to give you DSLR-like quality and flexibility, so of course people will compare it at least to some extent to a DSLR.
While I do agree that the controls may not seem that horrible to you, and in fact to many other people, they are still bad. If you shoot Auto, controls don't matter. If you shoot PASM though, this thing is very badly done. Imagine someone starting with NEX - he must go through some really weird learning curve, just to find out how good DLSRs are in the end. If you make something between a P&S and a DSLR, then just simplify controls, make them more intuitive. Sony made them really not intuitive. Why? They have great interfaces on the A700/850/900 etc.
@Atkins
as its says
"The NEX-5 is a dramatic and original approach to camera design - the downside being that it can't fall back on years of evolutionary improvement.'"
and
"The images are up with the best in its class but the user experience is disappointing."
im not looking to make a living or a name with a camera just take decent (ish) pictures and videos with some control and a small size. this camera does this and its what sony were aiming for. i just aint waiting a possible 3 to 4 years before the next release thats all. as for user experience my sony is the japanese edition which doesnt have a language choice other than japanese so at the moment its making things a little slower. but i still like the camera.
i had read the review before i got the camera.
@sod The only thing 'horrendus' here is your failure to read the 'p' in 'preview'.
@sod Ah, so you are in Japan? Me too. Still can't figure out why they don't put all languages.
Look, I am not saying it is not a good camera. The camera is in fact great. And while the menu/buttons are usable, they could've >easily< been better. And I am basing this on my A700, the interface is great. Forget pro or not, they could've made it better with minimal resources and that is what I am bitching about. Otherwise I like it. Especially the build quality of those new lenses, all chrome, awesome. And there will be plenty of adapters for the NEX coming soon!
@Vlad Savov
or my spelling but im dyslexic so sue me.
i dont count this as a Preview as its out and in the wild and has been for the last 2 weeks.
@Atkins
yep here in 愛知.
dont you find japanese kit does make you read the manual tho?
@Atkins
I've heard that the duty-free shops in Akihabara or Den-den in Osaka are now selling the international versions, albeit at a 20,000円 premium over the domestic Japanese-only version. Just FYI.