Noctilux and Nex 5n awesome combination

[eleskin]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I really love the focus peaking and high ISO of the Nex 5n and am finding it works really well with my Noctilux f1.0 at f1.0. I use an M8 but I must say I am getting more in focus with the 5n with peaking and I really love the high ISO quality. To improve handling, I added an Ownuser battery grip. With the Ownuser, the Nex 5n is much better to hold with a Noctilux attached. This camera is not an M replacement, but in certain situations, especially if I want high ISO and want a different way to focus an f1.0 lens, the Nex is great, especially for the price. I might even buy an Nex 7 for my Noctilux as well!

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[eleskin]

Taken with my Noctilux at f1.0 and Nex 5n

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[eleskin]

Here is a nice pic for Christmas.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[eleskin]

A Black and White pic

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[eleskin]

I used and ISO range between 800 and 3200 and frequently used 1600. The results are great in my opinion. I set focus peaking at high and use yellow as the color. I am dead on in focus 98% of the time, much higher than I am with a rangefinder, especially with my daughter that moves around alot.

 

I really hope Leica offers an EVF full frame camera like the NEX 7 with great high ISO. It would offer an excellent solution for many situations where Leica M lens users would like another way to focus their lenses other than a rangefinder. It would also offer the R lens owners a solution as well, although many have been using Canon, etc,, DSLR's.

 

Again, I really love the focus peaking option Sony has introduced. It is a real winner, and is something Leica must consider as an option.

[jaques]

great photos- does indeed look like a good combo- picture wise. Aesthetically the story is a little different: ridiculous looking camera rig! The lens dwarfs the camera even with your battery grip... I also hope Leica offers a camera like that- but I hope it does not look anything like the Nex cameras... which are just too ugly. No harm intended: just my aesthetic sensibilities being piqued...

[eleskin]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I do agree. My rig is ugly, and I still prefer my M8 in layout and size but for the price, you cannot beat the NEX 5n. My feeling is the tri-nav layout of the NEX 7 will be much better. If I designed this thing it would be a larger version of the Fuji X100 with an M mount. Fuji might have this soon anyway. Out of any digital camera I ever used, Leica has the best layout and least complicated menu setup. I do have to confess that the NEX 5n was easy for me to use right out of the box without reading the book that came with it. The icon menu structure is similar to Apple products which I use and i had little trouble using the camera. For the price, this camera cannot be beat especially if you need a camera body to use with rangefinder and slr lenses in one body.

 

Also, i chose the NEX 5n based on the quality of photos I believed I would get with lenses like the Noctilux. An ugly rig yes, but it really does the job in a great way at little cost.

[algrove]

Now there is a novel idea- a $10k lens on a $!k body. Maybe the glass makes the body feel like $5k. Yes agree, it IS ugly.

[eleskin]

I am starting to like ugly cameras. They seem to make photos that are far from ugly.

 

In fact, ugly may not get stolen as much.

 

Enough with the humor. Yes, this an ugly rig, but I care more about the photos, and it works.

 

Look at how ugly the RED camera is and what it can do.

 

The all time ugly camera for me may be the Leica S1, but they are still in use today, especially museums who reproduce art work digitally.

 

Ugly can be cool in a way.

[mmradman]

Ugly or not is in the eye of beholder, low cost compared with typical Leica is difficult to argue about. I am test driving NEX-7 tommorow and I am going into it with open mind.

[algrove]

Ugly or not is in the eye of beholder, low cost compared with typical Leica is difficult to argue about. I am test driving NEX-7 tommorow and I am going into it with open mind.

 

So I sounds like they are becoming available, at least in the UK. I had thought it would be sometime next year they would come on stream in volume.

[algrove]

I am starting to like ugly cameras. They seem to make photos that are far from ugly.

 

In fact, ugly may not get stolen as much.

 

Enough with the humor. Yes, this an ugly rig, but I care more about the photos, and it works.

 

Look at how ugly the RED camera is and what it can do.

 

The all time ugly camera for me may be the Leica S1, but they are still in use today, especially museums who reproduce art work digitally.

 

Ugly can be cool in a way.

 

Eleskin

Forgot to ask what M adapter do you use?

[mmradman]

So I sounds like they are becoming available, at least in the UK. I had thought it would be sometime next year they would come on stream in volume.

 

Not yet, i think end of January 2012 was mentioned for availability in shops.

 

Sony reps are doing demonstrations on photo dealer premises, I went to enquire to my local shop recently and was informed of the forthcoming repeated visit - it is second demo in a month.

[Frank Sprow]

I have been using the NEX5N for the last couple of weeks with my Leica lenses and am very pleased with image quality. It may well replace my M7 as a "companion" camera.

[mmradman]

Not yet, i think end of January 2012 was mentioned for availability in shops.

 

Sony reps are doing demonstrations on photo dealer premises, I went to enquire to my local shop recently and was informed of the forthcoming repeated visit - it is second demo in a month.

 

Just came from test drive of Sony NEX-7, used 24mm f1.8, 16mm f2.8 and 18-55mm kit zoom. Also played with NEX-5N, NEX-7 has better ergonomics but too many buttons and some of them get touched too inadvertently and too easily, coming from Nikon Digital platform I may be a little bit spoiled for solid feel to camera controls.

 

I liked A-E AF adapter and tried 16-50mm & 50mm f1.8 lenses.

 

Overall impression, perhaps camera is trying hard to be jack of all trades, after all it was designed by marketing department and 24Mp is clear testament to that, of this later.

 

As I see it key advantage; it is lightweight rig with reasonably good ergonomics and good potential to use legacy lenses, main interest of mine. Not expensive either compared to some other compact digital alternatives.

 

After downloading NEX-7 JPG test files and comparison with M9 test shots made recently I must say I like M9 results. OK my M9 JPGs are all converted from DGN RAW while Sony are all shot native JPG still I was expecting less plastic looking images - it must be heavy 24 MP count for "small" APS-C sensor.

 

If I am to buy into NEX system it may as well be into basic NEX-5N kit and good quality M-NEX adapter.

 

I think I need to test drive Ricoh GXR next before making any decision.

 

Sony has aspiration to be serious player but they still have mountain to climb. Even Alpha 77 camera sporing high spec technology packed into the body felt like a piece of plastic tat - thanks not for me.

 

Final note, shop where demo took place had S/H M5 and 50mm Summicron for sale at £1550 - I was more tempted by this than Sony NEX-7.

[pico]

I find it to be the ugliest, most disgusting abomination I've ever lusted for.

[Sp12]

After downloading NEX-7 JPG test files and comparison with M9 test shots made recently I must say I like M9 results. OK my M9 JPGs are all converted from DGN RAW while Sony are all shot native JPG still I was expecting less plastic looking images - it must be heavy 24 MP count for "small" APS-C sensor.

 

Try RAW processed with LR3. Sony has the worst JPEG engine I've ever seen. I think my phone's is less damaging to file's than that in the A77/NEX7.

[mmradman]

Try RAW processed with LR3. Sony has the worst JPEG engine I've ever seen. I think my phone's is less damaging to file's than that in the A77/NEX7.

 

Extra reason to be concerned with Sony, majority of people shoot in JPG so you would expect good JPG in camera. By comparison Nikon JPGs are fantastic.

[Sp12]

Extra reason to be concerned with Sony, majority of people shoot in JPG so you would expect good JPG in camera. By comparison Nikon JPGs are fantastic.

 

But certainly the minority that are going to be using it in manual mode with 1K+ lenses aren't going to waste their time with jpegs.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[mmradman]

But certainly the minority that are going to be using it in manual mode with 1K+ lenses aren't going to waste their time with jpegs.

 

And why not, playing with RAW files is not everyones idea of fun. I can live with RAW but like minimum PP and smaller file size.

 

If pressed for time or ignorant or post processing challenged straight out of camera is good feature to have - this includes some commercial photographers as well as majority of amateurs. I would assert that majority of digital camera users are shooting JPG regardless of the cost of lens they use.

 

So, good camera should be able to produce good JPG files with zero or minimum of PP, there are such cameras and it appears that NEX-7 is not one of them. It may or may not have good RAW but JPG didn't knock my socks off.