NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

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Archive 2012 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

brockwhittaker
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p.1 #1 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Everyone always says that it is better to have good lenses, than cameras. I have a 5D Classic, and am eyeballing the NEX 7. This is simply because it can use almost any lens, with an adapter. Convince me I'm wrong. I just think it'd be amazing to not only use the Sony lenses, but also Voigtlander, Leica, C/Y, all my Canons, Minolta, etc. What do you think? Would it be stupid to do this?

I do landscape photography mostly, along with the occasional portrait. Low light work is not my thing, although it is occasionally something of a hobby.

Thanks!

Brock Whittaker

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:26 AM

mpmendenhall
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p.1 #2 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

If getting a NEX for use with alt glass is a stupid idea, then you should probably not trust the quality of answers you get on a forum crawling with enough idiots to produce a 200 page NEX images thread

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:44 AM

Tariq Gibran
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p.1 #3 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Yeah, I think a strong argument could be made that using alt lenses on an NEX actually makes the most sense given the lack of really good native lenses available.

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:47 AM

LightShow
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p.1 #4 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

As a NEX 7 user with zero native lenses, I know where you're coming from,
I get to finally use lenses that I just couldn't on my 1DIII, and let me be clear,
This is not replacing my canon gear, just supplementing it.
If Canon come out with a mirrorless camera that has an interchangeable lens, and is
APS-C or larger, the 7 may find it self up for sale, ditto if Sony release a FF NEX 9.

So far the lens I'm using the most is an FD SSC 24/2.8, a nice compact lens that's sharp,
What I really want is a 10-12 mm f4 or faster prime with good corners but it can't be too big.

Feb 21, 2012 at 06:51 AM

philber
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p.1 #5 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Brock, be careful. Using all manners of lenses with a NEX is a great idea, including rangefinder lenses that will never work on any DSLR (Leica M, Contax G, Zeiss ZM, certain Voigtländers), plus pretty much all DSLR lenses. But NEX 7 is a very tricky camera when it comes to wide angle lenses. Basically, you can forget any rangefinder lens wider than 35mm, because you are going to get colour shift and really mushy edges and corners. How it accepts DSLR wides I will find out today actually, but the jury is still out. A search on NEX 7 threads will give you much more info than this quickie.
OTOH, you could consider the NEX 5N, a delightful camera in its own right, probably underestimated because of the NEX 7's long shadow. And it accepts all DSLR lenses, plus the vast majority of rangefinders. My personal favorite being the superlative Zeiss ZM 18.

Feb 21, 2012 at 07:57 AM

uhoh7
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p.1 #6 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

mpmendenhall wrote:
If getting a NEX for use with alt glass is a stupid idea, then you should probably not trust the quality of answers you get on a forum crawling with enough idiots to produce a 200 page NEX images thread

I resemble that insult!
It been interesting to see the nex progress from a laughing stock to the dominant ALT platform.

I blame sebboh.

Feb 21, 2012 at 08:11 AM

philber
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p.1 #7 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

uhoh7 wrote:

It been interesting to see the nex progress from a laughing stock to the dominant ALT platform.

.

+1!

Feb 21, 2012 at 08:29 AM

pdmphoto
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p.1 #8 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Since your interest is landscape photography, with an occasional portrait, you might wanna answer a few questions first. What focal length do you want for wide angle? How important is the wide open aperture/blurred background look in your portrait shots? Do you have good manual focus technique? Do you have money to burn?

Finding a good performing wide for the NEX7 can be an expensive proposition, and even then it isn't very wide due to the 1.5x focal length from the APS-C sensor. The Zeiss ZM looks like the best bet, but it is >$1300USD. The lens + NEX7 would be $3000! That's a little rich for an APS-C sensor and a 28/5.6 (effective focal length/aperture) lens - IMO.

I don't have any idea what lenses you have for portrait, but focus peeking isn't ideal for a fast tele lens for portrait work. With good technique (and maybe magnification instead of peeking) you might get decent results if there isn't to much subject movement. Your 5D and a Canon 85/1.8 (or alt tele lens using the optical viewfinder) seems like a better choice.

While it's great to be able to use the Leica M and Voigtlander lenses, which perform well and make for a small package, the good performing ones aren't cheap. If you already have a stash of those lenses, or money to burn, then the cost issue may be irrelevant to you.

The base ISO performance of the 5D is very good. While the NEX7 evidently tests better (more dynamic range for instance), I haven't seen that advantage create nicer looking results. A landscape picture taken with a 5D (and good performing lens) still looks more pleasing and natural to me.

Feb 21, 2012 at 08:43 AM

philber
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p.1 #9 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Sorry, pdmphoto, but the Zeiss ZM 18 gives massive colour shift with the NEX 7. So, even at that price, it does not work well at all.

Feb 21, 2012 at 09:04 AM

pdmphoto
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p.1 #10 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Ok thanks. Thought I saw some good posts with that combo but it was likely the 5N.

Feb 21, 2012 at 09:24 AM

rsrsrs
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p.1 #11 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

I had the same question.
until now it seems that the nex7 is a no go for wideangel.
especially for a 1100 euro (without lens)
r

Feb 21, 2012 at 11:01 AM

ChrisDM
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p.1 #12 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Especially with "alt" lenses, I like to shoot with cameras with a soul, and the Sony cameras to me just have no soul. They are so plain, so industrial, so boring, it just doesn't seem right mounting interesting glass to them. I know that's trivial in the final image making process, and it is just my opinion. But in terms of photography as a hobby (I'm a professional also), I have this romantic attraction to using my tools, making photographs with these objects of desire. And there's no lust built in to the Sony bodies, I don't care how many megapixels they cram in there.

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:01 PM

rsrsrs
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p.1 #13 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

funny,
thats what my wife told me when i showed her a NEX 5n.
it is just horror for her.
;-)
r

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:27 PM

FlyPenFly
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p.1 #14 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Hah, you should try a cheapo feeling Panasonic g-x or gh-x or any of the Olympus bodies so far. They all feel extremely cheaply made but so do pretty much all camera bodies. Even the E-P2 I had felt cheap and unsubstantial and that one got praise for body quality despite its hollow plastic frame. The Gf-1 And x100 are the only mirror less bodies I've tried that felt substantial.

The nex7 feels well made but not particularly that solid. The gx1 feels about the same.

Nikon is the only company that seems to make bodies that feel substantial under the 1k mark.

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:28 PM

xbarcelo
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p.1 #15 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

ChrisDM,
You'll have to explain to me what a camera with "soul" is, because all digital cameras are computers in disguise. I don't really get you.

Unless you're referring to Leica…

FlyPenFly, he was not talking about solid, he was using something much more etherial…

Xavier

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:36 PM

slungu
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p.1 #16 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

ChrisDM wrote:
Especially with "alt" lenses, I like to shoot with cameras with a soul, and the Sony cameras to me just have no soul. They are so plain, so industrial, so boring, it just doesn't seem right mounting interesting glass to them. I know that's trivial in the final image making process, and it is just my opinion. But in terms of photography as a hobby (I'm a professional also), I have this romantic attraction to using my tools, making photographs with these objects of desire. And there's no lust built in to the Sony bodies, I don't care how many megapixels they cram in there.

The Canon 1Ds is as industrial as it can get in my book, same goes for pretty much all FF DSLR's, so you are either back at film or I have no clue what you could pick to be happy from a design point of view ( I had a 1Ds, now a NEX, none of them is really appealing design wise to me ).

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:50 PM

ulrikft2
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p.1 #17 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

Soul?

*chuckle*

Feb 21, 2012 at 01:55 PM

mawz
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p.1 #18 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

ChrisDM wrote:
Especially with "alt" lenses, I like to shoot with cameras with a soul, and the Sony cameras to me just have no soul. They are so plain, so industrial, so boring, it just doesn't seem right mounting interesting glass to them. I know that's trivial in the final image making process, and it is just my opinion. But in terms of photography as a hobby (I'm a professional also), I have this romantic attraction to using my tools, making photographs with these objects of desire. And there's no lust built in to the Sony bodies, I don't care how many megapixels they cram in there.

That's a pretty good description of any DSLR or Mirrorless camera with the possible exception of the M9 and the Oly Pens & OM-D.

Feb 21, 2012 at 02:44 PM

ChrisDM
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p.1 #19 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

mawz wrote:
ChrisDM wrote:
Especially with "alt" lenses, I like to shoot with cameras with a soul, and the Sony cameras to me just have no soul. They are so plain, so industrial, so boring, it just doesn't seem right mounting interesting glass to them. I know that's trivial in the final image making process, and it is just my opinion. But in terms of photography as a hobby (I'm a professional also), I have this romantic attraction to using my tools, making photographs with these objects of desire. And there's no lust built in to the Sony bodies, I don't care how many megapixels they cram in there.

That's a pretty good description of any DSLR or Mirrorless camera with the possible exception of the M9 and the Oly Pens & OM-D.

I agree. I recently bought a GX1 and while its performance and image quality is quite remarkable, it has no soul

... I think it has something to do with its lack of viewfinder, and something to do with the fact that it is manufactured by what I perceive to be a television company (and the fact that it pretty much visually resembles most ho-hum compacts on the market). I am planning to sell my GX1 when the OMD comes out for this reason. I don't expect any better performance, but I will have a nice viewfinder on a camera that wasn't made by a television manufacturer. And it looks more like a camera..

Feb 21, 2012 at 02:54 PM

FlyPenFly
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p.1 #20 · NEX vs DSLR (Lenses)

That's a super silly reason. Because it's made by a TV maker? Olympus makes ass scopes.

Feb 21, 2012 at 02:56 PM

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