I finally got myself a NEX 5 (18-55mm kit) from my usual dealer. Though I thought that I would like a silver-coloured one, I found that the black one actually looked very stylish with the darkish metallic-coloured lens and the black accents on the front of the lens.
Everything about this camera is about style... the metallic lens, the minimalistic look of the body with bare minimum of buttons to press, and the unique plugin-screwed-on external flash. I love Sony's implementation of a built-in flash that could be detached if so desired to allow other accessories to be used with the camera or to make the camera even smaller. I said that this flash is like 'built-in' because its strength is that of a built-in flash and when attached, it looked like the pop-up flashes of many P&S digicams. It even activates when popped up... all-in-all a very refreshing design for a built-in flash. Because it is so small, once on the camera, I kept it on... so it is a built-in flash to me.
I think that Sony actually wanted to design their mirrorless interchangeable lens camera system such that it is totally different from those of the other brands currently in the market and in the process make their product stand out amongst the competition. Other companies designed the cameras of their mirrorless interchangeable lens systems to look like DSLRs and/or rangefinders... Sony wants theirs to look like a updated P&S digicam... more accurately a updated, more advanced and versatile version of their latest P&S like WX1 or HX5 with a APS-C sensor.
This became clear to me when I pondered a bit on why Sony made the unthinkable decision to omit the inclusion of a body cap with their camera kits. Surely it is not to save on cost since a body cap is not at all expensive. As I think about it, a light bulb turned on in my head and I had an 'ah-ha' moment... Sony wanted the users to keep the lens attached permanently to the camera body... and without a body cap, the user would have no choice but to do just that unless he insists on buying an OEM or original body cap and lens rear cap to keep the body and lens apart. By keeping the lens attached to the body, the NEX 5 becomes effectively a P&S camera.
As I started using the NEX 5, it become more obvious to me that this is actually a more advanced version of the WX1, HX5 and TX7 which I also own and use. It has most of the unique features of the WX1/HX5 like sweep panorama, anti motion blur, auto HDR, hand-held twilight, etc. It's much-maligned user menu and operating system is also quite similar to that of the WX1 and HX5 except that the one in the NEX has a much more attractive graphical interface. And when Luminous Landscape complained 'if you have the camera set to raw, or raw + JPG, the HDR menu selection will tell you that the function is not available, but won't even hint as to why it isn't', it is also quite obvious to me as a user of HX5 and TX7 why this might be so. Functions like Auto HDR are only for jpeg mode probably due to the lack of sufficient computing power of the camera to process RAW files for these functions. Hopefully in the near future, the CPU of the camera might be powerful enough to do so and we would see new versions of NEX cameras with the ability to shoot such modes in Raw. I wish that Sony had put in the GPS function which they have in the HX5 though. It would then be the perfect replacement for my HX5 for travelling purpose.
So what's improved over the P&S like WX1 and HX5? Maybe it's...
- higher resolution screen
- APS-C sensor which allows for much better image quality... a misgiving I have for the WX1, HX5 and TX7 that I have, especially for those special digital functions like sweep panorama, auto HDR, anti motion blur and hand-held twilight
- ability to shoot sweep panorama, anti motion blur, hand-held twilight, auto HDR with different lenses
- ability to shoot in Raw
So for those buying into the NEX system hoping that it would an alternative to their existing DSLR system, chances are that they would be disappointed when they start to use the camera as their expectations are those of the DSLR systems that they are used to while those who look at the NEX system as a more advanced and improved version of their P&S digicams would most likely than not be happy with their choice.
Everything about this camera is about style... the metallic lens, the minimalistic look of the body with bare minimum of buttons to press, and the unique plugin-screwed-on external flash. I love Sony's implementation of a built-in flash that could be detached if so desired to allow other accessories to be used with the camera or to make the camera even smaller. I said that this flash is like 'built-in' because its strength is that of a built-in flash and when attached, it looked like the pop-up flashes of many P&S digicams. It even activates when popped up... all-in-all a very refreshing design for a built-in flash. Because it is so small, once on the camera, I kept it on... so it is a built-in flash to me.
I think that Sony actually wanted to design their mirrorless interchangeable lens camera system such that it is totally different from those of the other brands currently in the market and in the process make their product stand out amongst the competition. Other companies designed the cameras of their mirrorless interchangeable lens systems to look like DSLRs and/or rangefinders... Sony wants theirs to look like a updated P&S digicam... more accurately a updated, more advanced and versatile version of their latest P&S like WX1 or HX5 with a APS-C sensor.
This became clear to me when I pondered a bit on why Sony made the unthinkable decision to omit the inclusion of a body cap with their camera kits. Surely it is not to save on cost since a body cap is not at all expensive. As I think about it, a light bulb turned on in my head and I had an 'ah-ha' moment... Sony wanted the users to keep the lens attached permanently to the camera body... and without a body cap, the user would have no choice but to do just that unless he insists on buying an OEM or original body cap and lens rear cap to keep the body and lens apart. By keeping the lens attached to the body, the NEX 5 becomes effectively a P&S camera.
As I started using the NEX 5, it become more obvious to me that this is actually a more advanced version of the WX1, HX5 and TX7 which I also own and use. It has most of the unique features of the WX1/HX5 like sweep panorama, anti motion blur, auto HDR, hand-held twilight, etc. It's much-maligned user menu and operating system is also quite similar to that of the WX1 and HX5 except that the one in the NEX has a much more attractive graphical interface. And when Luminous Landscape complained 'if you have the camera set to raw, or raw + JPG, the HDR menu selection will tell you that the function is not available, but won't even hint as to why it isn't', it is also quite obvious to me as a user of HX5 and TX7 why this might be so. Functions like Auto HDR are only for jpeg mode probably due to the lack of sufficient computing power of the camera to process RAW files for these functions. Hopefully in the near future, the CPU of the camera might be powerful enough to do so and we would see new versions of NEX cameras with the ability to shoot such modes in Raw. I wish that Sony had put in the GPS function which they have in the HX5 though. It would then be the perfect replacement for my HX5 for travelling purpose.
So what's improved over the P&S like WX1 and HX5? Maybe it's...
- higher resolution screen
- APS-C sensor which allows for much better image quality... a misgiving I have for the WX1, HX5 and TX7 that I have, especially for those special digital functions like sweep panorama, auto HDR, anti motion blur and hand-held twilight
- ability to shoot sweep panorama, anti motion blur, hand-held twilight, auto HDR with different lenses
- ability to shoot in Raw
So for those buying into the NEX system hoping that it would an alternative to their existing DSLR system, chances are that they would be disappointed when they start to use the camera as their expectations are those of the DSLR systems that they are used to while those who look at the NEX system as a more advanced and improved version of their P&S digicams would most likely than not be happy with their choice.
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