Why Sony is catching up with the Big Boys!

I am a die hard fan of Canon, but since Photography is just a hobby of mine, I sold them all and went back to point and shoot camera.

Lately, I got an itch to spend $5xx for a Fuji X10 point and shoot camera. I was amazed with it`s super micro capabilities. (Sample below) with LR3 processing.

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Below are the sample pictures from the NEX5N unedited using a 28 years old Canon FD lens 50mm f1.4 @ ISO 6400.

JPEG @ ISO 6400 Unedited with FD lens. Using the Sony " Anti Motion Blur" setting. ---> It seems like the shutter or whatever cover or curtain inside, it stays open longer and shots a 10 FPS burst and merged those images into one. This technology creates the picture with less blur and noise... I don`t know how Sony does it but it is an awsome camera!

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No viewfinder or hotshoe would kill it for me.

mike_d wrote in post #13558784
No viewfinder or hotshoe would kill it for me.

Good point, but I think the Nex7 will have both.

All of those new cameras like that are too small for me. I need my gripped 5DII! Feels great in my hands vs. those little things that I can't even get a good grip on or manipulate quickly. I have a G12 for a portable P&S when I don't want to take the real gear along. It's about the smallest I can manage to use, and even it is a bit small for my hands.

AWGD8 wrote in post #13558791
Good point, but I think the Nex7 will have both.

But knowing Sony, the hotshoe will be a proprietary thing that only works with their stuff. Are they still using MemoryStick?

mike_d wrote in post #13558784
No viewfinder or hotshoe would kill it for me.

I'm the opposite. It would kill it for me if it had these.

mike_d wrote in post #13558802
But knowing Sony, the hotshoe will be a proprietary thing that only works with their stuff. Are they still using MemoryStick?

I hate Sony for their proprietary stuff specially computers, but there are 3rd party companies that will help us bypass it.

Fotodiox makes lens adapter for different manuf. glasses to mount to Nex. Though, you just have to manually focus those 3rd party lenses. It won`t be a problem though since Sony has a contrast peaking features when shooting manually -It is very helpful.

Not sure about flashes yet since I`m just a hobbyist and seldom uses flash. I have not researched into these stuff yet.

And to answer your question, Sony uses SD cards now.

The Sony NEX-7 has an electronic viewfinder, a standard hot shoe, and uses SD cards.

http://www.dpreview.co​m …011/8/24/sonyne​x7overview

All comments above, aside, it's still a Sony and it will soon be broken!

blueM wrote in post #13562807
All comments above, aside, it's still a Sony and it will soon be broken!

Perhaps if they didn't make them look so much like toys....

The same, I think, applies to the brightly colored Pentax bodies and the pretty little Nikon MIL cameras.

People will always treat things that look like toys with disdain. If you're a manufacturer who makes a serious product and you want the public to take it seriously, then you must make the product look serious, not simply be serious.

Besides, if you were a professional photographer, say a product photographer, do you really think it would help your business if your clients see you using a pink or baby blue teensy-weensy camera? So what if it has a nice APS-C sensor! Image is everything in business.

Sony suffers an image problem. While they have long made top grade pro video gear, the average consumer knows them only as a consumer grade products company. Yes, their products do have a strong ranking vs. other products offered by competitors, but few folks think Sony when the words "professional's equipment" are uttered.
In the case of the NEX5,

• it does have an optional electronic viewfinder, but it is very pricey at $350.
  
• It has a standard attachable external flash, but
  
• it connects thru the same proprietary connector as the EVF (so you cannot use both at the same time) and
  
• it has a minimsule amount of power (GN7), it is little more than an inconvenient pop-up flash -- because it has to be attached, and that is not a quick and easy thing to do, like popping up a flash.
  
• it has a small selection of lenses, and the adapter to widen its range of AF lenses and use the Minolta dSLR lenses is expensive and bulky.
  
• it uses contrast detection AF, which is slower than phase detection used in dSLRs and does not work as well in low light
  

Wilt wrote in post #13563200
Sony suffers an image problem. While they have long made top grade pro video gear, the average consumer knows them only as a consumer grade products company. Yes, their products do have a strong ranking vs. other products offered by competitors, but few folks think Sony when the words "professional's equipment" are uttered.
In the case of the NEX5,

• it does have an optional electronic viewfinder, but it is very pricey at $350.
  
• It has a standard attachable external flash, but
  
• it connects thru the same proprietary connector as the EVF (so you cannot use both at the same time) and
  
• it has a minimsule amount of power (GN7), it is little more than an inconvenient pop-up flash -- because it has to be attached, and that is not a quick and easy thing to do, like popping up a flash.
  
• it has a small selection of lenses, and the adapter to widen its range of AF lenses and use the Minolta dSLR lenses is expensive and bulky.
  
• it uses contrast detection AF, which is slower than phase detection used in dSLRs and does not work as well in low light

Yes, it does measure very respectably for low noise at high ISO compared to dSLRs, and its APS-C sensor compares in IQ very well against APS-C traditional dSLRs, but it nevertheless is still closer to the P&S range of interchangeable lens cameras, like the Olympus Pen. Its deliberately streamlined design which rids the exterior of control knobs and dials, etc. is more oriented to snapshooting than to a professional shooter.

Agree. Many of the newer smaller cameras have serious ergonomic issues. I need to pickup my camera and press couple of buttons and begin shooting. I don't want to scroll through columns of menus to change my ISO setting.

blueM wrote in post #13562807
All comments above, aside, it's still a Sony and it will soon be broken!

My wife shoots with a Sony and have had factory service challenges!! The second and third time under warranty she was able to talk to a representative that finally understood why she felt the service was marginal and finally per their discussions, it was serviced like it should have been. In conclusion she told me no more Sonys.

Two thoughts.

One may not be directly related to the subject of this thread but in so far as their DSLRs are concerned I have tried a couple of their cameras with the new translucent viewfinders and did not like them!!

The other point is that Sony should have stuck with the Minolta brand! That alone I think would have helped their sales.

Just my two cents.

Rob