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I got my NEX-C3 today. As I know that there aren't many out there yet and as there are many NEX shooters here, I thought I'd write down some first impressions.
Before I do that however, I think that many current NEX shooters will be interested
in this:
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The NEX-C3 shows no signs of color casts when using wide angle or ultra wide angle lenses. I've tried it with the ZM 18, ZM 25, 28 Cron ASPH & 35 Lux ASPH and I've found no traces of the red/cyan cast that was a problem with the NEX-3 & 5. It looks like there is no need for CornerFix with this camera.
Now before y'all go rioting in front of the nearest camera store to get one, a word of warning. C3 RAW files are not supported yet in neither ACR (Photoshop & Lightroom) nor Aperture. So you have to use the supplied Sony RAW converter. Scientific studies on rats have shown that users of the Sony RAW converter are 500% more likely to commit suicide than those that use other RAW developers. You have been warned.
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Finally, before I start, a disclaimer so that I don't get lynched. I got this camera as a light back up for my Leica M9 and I'll be using M mount lenses on it. My point of reference for comparison will be the M9 which of course is ridiculously unfair as the C3 is less than a tenth of the price of the M9. These are also just initial impressions. I'll be doing proper technical comparisons later and post the results in this thread. The first impressions here are based on a couple of snaps I took at the office and during a 30 minute walk home. So don't expect an exhaustive test.
There’s nothing worse than a sharp picture of a fuzzy concept..except for a picture with no ducks –Ansel Adams
Leica APO-Summicron-M 90/2 ASPH, Sony NEX-C3:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-001.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-002.jpg
Alright. First the physical attributes. The NEX-C3 is ridiculously tiny. The old NEX-3 & 5 were small cameras, but the C3 brings this to a new level.
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-000.jpg
^^
Pentax 67, Canon 5DII, Canon 350D, Leica M9 and the NEX-C3.
We're talking Cybershot P&S size here. Without a lens it will easily fit into a trouser pocket.
The small size that makes it convenient also makes it an ergonomic disaster - especially when coupled with a heavy M lens. There is no comfortable way of holding the camera as it becomes extremely front heavy. At the same time I think that is unavoidable when there is a serious mismatch between lens & body weight. In my case as this is supposed to be a backup camera the light weight and small size is perfect. For somebody considering using this as their main camera it will probably be problematic.
Ergonomically ridiculous, the 90 Cron AA on the NEX-C3:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-000b.jpg
The display is high resolution which is welcome for a camera that only has live view although the colors aren't the best. You get a sort of VHS tape vibe from the image preview. The display tilts which is very useful. You can use it for Hasselblad style waist level shooting which is an interesting experience. Of course Hasselblad used a square format whereas the C3 has a 3:2 aspect ratio. That means that the tilt function is useful when shooting in landscape mode only. Or if you want to check around corners for snipers or similar. Still, the tilt function is nice.
Leica APO-Summicron-M 90/2 ASPH:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-003.jpg
Leica Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-004.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-005.jpg
Leica APO-Summicron-M 90/2 ASPH:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-007.jpg
Leica Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-012.jpg
The general user interface, both hardware and software is very dumbed down. Clearly the primary target audience for this camera are not only the people that upgrade from a regular P&S but also stupid people. Fortunately however you can configure it in such a way that you never have to deal with that. You can for instance assign four different buttons to custom functions and chances are that after you’ve configured the camera you won’t have to see any of the pointless beginner functions.
Unfortunately it seems that certain functions were designed by a moderately gifted monkey. For instance the camera informs you that you are in AUTO ISO mode, but won’t inform you what ISO is actually chosen when you do the metering. Other clearly monkey-designed features are that the exceptionally loud and whining shutter mechanism that sounds like a squirrel getting caught in a bear trap. A more serious issue is that when you remove the lens the shutter does not close to cover the sensor. The sensor is completely exposed and you can in real-time enjoy watching dust covering its surface.
Leica Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-006.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-009.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-013.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-010.jpg
As for the metering, it’s excellent. It has been dead on in just about every situation I’ve tried it so far. Very impressive.
The peek function is excellent as well. It really speeds up the process of manual focusing. It’s not always 100% reliable though in all situations. It requires high contrast edges. When everything is low contrast then it can give you misleading information.
When it comes to lenses one thing one has to deal with is the 1.5x crop factor. There’s no other way of putting it – that sucks. When you are used to FF it’s a traumatic experience to see your whole wide angle arsenal wiped out. That’s the price you have to pay. Ultimately however it’s lower than getting another M9 as a backup camera - that if you are lucky you won’t use.
Zeiss Distagon 18/4 ZM:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-018.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-015.jpg
Finally we get to image quality. I’d like to get ACR RAW support before I make any detailed statements, but any comparisons to the M9 would be, perhaps not surprisingly, quite unfavorable. That of course is not a fair comparison to make given the price difference between those two, but I have to make it as I’ll be using it as an emergency backup for the M9. I would say that at low ISO it is comparable to a Canon 7D, but I’ll have to do some side by side comparisons to confirm that. It’s good enough.
Zeiss 35/2 Biogon ZM:
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-019.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-017.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-016.jpg
http://peltarion.eu/img/nex3c/nex-014.jpg
Preliminary conclusion: It’s pretty much what I expected so I think I made the correct decision in getting it. The only big surprise was that they’ve seem to have fixed the color cast problem, which is a very good thing.
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