Sony NEX 5 vs Leica x1

[Mark2]

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Anybody getting ready to buy the Sony Nex 5 next month?

 

It's autofocus is much faster than x1. Very tempting

[davidhunternyc]

Ooo, nice thread. I can't wait to see the comparisons.

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

[erure]

I've been tempted, but resisting. If they had a great pancake lens like Panasonic 20mm f/1.7, I probably would have gotten one to try it out.

[leicashot]

The fixed lens is a 24mm f/2.8. So initially it doesn't cover the EP-1/2 and GF-1 main bases as a small portable everyday standard lens kit.

 

I briefly tested it in store and its very good, though looks very odd especially with a black body and silver lens combo. Even that lens looks too big for it. Video and high ISO look great in camera at least.

 

Again, a different camera to the X1. The X1 is a niche camera. The NEX5 will be like the GF-1.

[jsrockit]

So similar, yet so different. Merge these two cameras together, and you may have a winner.

[h00ligan]

I don't even think the nex5 will compete with the gf1 - maybe the epl1. It's a big point and shoot, with horrible menu system, optical problems even a beginning amatuer can see...and the ridiculously small body but full size lenses.. well - why bother.

 

I am starting to feel that way about MFT as well fwiw. If it's too big to go in a pocket, may as well be a dslr.. by pocket i mean jacket or cargo pants, not skinny jeans

 

I still have yet to buy a lens for my gf1 outside of the pancake. I haven't really seen the point - although I guess if one is traveling and has to have wa, prime, zoom, etc..it will be lighters.. but the tradeoff is iq/iso noise.

 

I'm sure the nex line will do great, it's personally not for me I think, or many 'photographers'. If you want a point and shoot, buy something that fits in a pocket.

 

edit - dpreview just posted full reviews of both nex cams.. they basically said the same thing - if all you want to do is turn it on and point and shoot, maybe it's ok.. it's not for photographers. IQ is less than stellar and the lens had the most distortion they'd ever recorded.

Edited June 7, 2010 by h00ligan

[peapodesque]

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I suggest folks check out the digital imaging resource page review with side by side pics,,!!!! ,,,,I dont know guys,,but I am Deffinitely not buying the x 1 now,,,though the nex 5 is ugly aesthetically and doesnt have the same glass,,a full dslr size sensor,panoramic shot thingy,which sorry looks cool,twilight shot,etc etc,,, ,,,even with the daft menu,,,the comparison shots in this review should freak people out,,,they didnt compare to x1 though which i think someone should do,,,though if I were Leica I would be quaking in my boots.too bad it is so ugly and ultimately cumbersome,THOUGH,,for less than half the price ,it is a LOT of camera,,now if we could only get some retro style genius in on the design part of it,,,.look at the speed of the autofocus too,,,this should cause some who are always complaining about the x1 autofocus speed something to REALLY feel bad about.

[peapodesque]

I would also like to say this is not like the GF1 in fact ,this camera whether it is the end all or be all of such cameras,it ,is the END of 4/3 sensor cameras,,,or what i mean it clearly spells the fact that all the big manufacturers are going to part with that "niche" of what was a nice larger sensor in a fine small camera (gf1 epys' etc.)design.I liked these cameras alot,,but when you create a full size sensor ,with interchangeable lenses in something that small,I think the playing field has been redefined.,someones going to make a REALLY nice version real soon.with manual frontal focus please!!!!!!I wish it was Leica,,anyone agree ,disagree??anyone want to wait,,,!!haha!

[h00ligan]

Read the dpreview 13 page review, the other one you mentioned seemed to me to be almost a payola type of thing. Also look at the barrel distortion and corner sharpness falloff.

 

I wasn't impressed in any way by any of the images compared to even the epl1 - let alone the leica.. and it shares in the leica slowness.

 

So, no control, horrible distortion, soft jpg, corner sharpness falloff with the kit lens, unpocketable,

 

Good thing it's cheap and directed at pocket cam users.

 

I disagree.. it's' not the end of mft - anymore than full frame ended 1.5/6 crop. Remember the g2 has a newer mft sensor.. their sensor technology will increase quickly.

[davidhunternyc]

I read the Imaging Resource Review and was quite impressed with the images from the NEX 5. The feature on this camera which is remarkable to me was the Handheld Twilight option. In low light situations, the camera rapidly fires 6 shots and combines them into one. The example of the Starbuck's store photographed at night is fantastic. With that said there are way too many whistles and bell's on this camera and the menus seem way too complicated and cumbersome. It's like taking a 747 to the grocery store. I love the streamlined and contemporary styling of the NEX 5 but I still prefer the traditional range finder aesthetic of the X1. Supposedly there will be a much needed optical viewfinder for the X5 also. I wish Sony would've put more resources into dealing with barrel distortion and other image quality issues rather than throwing in all these auxiliary features. Imagine having simple manual controls like the X1 with superlative image quality. This, I think, would severely cripple the X1's reputation. As it is now, the NEX 5 is a modern, clean, and simple looking camera with the innards of a carnival.

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/NEX5/NEX5A.HTM

[peapodesque]

Thanks David,,,of course you guys are the experts,and i like your comment at the end about the innards of a carnival,,I agree,,.though,the image comparison ,I just couldnt help being excited by and am glad to see someone who really knows agrees on that score,,,.Why did they have to muck it up,,,the bizarre long lens,etc,,

,but then why couldnt they just have put a manual focus ring on the x1,,honestly the image quality and simplicity factor of the x1 otherwise would have sold me in an instant if I had true manual capability even with no other lens capability.I think it really for me comes down to money too.I really want the M9 and am "settling" if I get the X1 for the next best thing,.Though I have to say I would like to post some of my dlux 4 images from India,,,I think even you "big boys" will be impressed.How do I do that?and would anyone care,,,hahah!!wrong forum,,,ah well!!

[Guest Chris M]

I just cancelled my pre order:D menu is just a nightmare to access differant functions and the psec's di not not turn me on after I downloaded and inspected the files. Its not a bad cam, but I would have very little controll of the way I'd want too shoot.

But the other side is that I just pre- ordered my 2 iphone 4g's from the Apple store:D

 

yeee haaa

 

Ps.. the VLUX 20 is a fantastic cam, and my wife loved her birthday gift, and just loves her little Leica, she is now officially an aficionado prints are very nice, and not has aggressive as it panasonic (clone), which is very desirable!

 

 

chris m.

[peapodesque]

Your right Edward,,,the whole menu thing is just ghastly in an effort to do away with buttons,,,they have substituted a bizarre set of choices that has some of the simplest choices taking six or more steps among many other oddities.I am and was impressed though with the sensor sizes ability to compare rather nicely in the pics dept with other fine cameras, I mentioned which Dave saw,,,and see this new trend with dslr size sensors as being something I hope disciplined and infinitely more efficient camera makers absord into something simple,I think there is the makings here of something new and great,,,.but as I finished the whopping dp review,I felt ,ugh,,deffinitely the "innards of a carnival " as another forum person said.Having said that,,,is the X1 and no true manual focus,,and no ability to interchange lenses,the slow af speed,etc,,,still trumped by the image quality and quite obvious physical and aesthetic beauty.I am a sucker for the retro look,like I am a sucker for a pretty girl.I dont want a "niche" camera,,,,for 2000 dollars,,,I want a significant step up from my dlux 4 in image quality,and actually wanted more macro ability which X1 apparently does not have much of either.But I am still drawn to it.hmmm,,,I thought about anM 8.2 and nokton,f 1.1,,but that is pretty expensive too.I guess what I want is really great images in a much smaller than the really nice but bulky dslrs i have been traveling around with for yrs.( I dont take them,in fact sold them all to BNH,,,and got the dlux 4 which has been a revelation) hence my Leica fever,,,but where do I go from here ? I am just not sold on the X1 ?

[Guest stnami]

Any competent iphone user will wiz through the NEX 5 menu and comprehend the processes involved

 

a review......

 

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/SonyNex5Nex3/

Edited June 7, 2010 by stnami

[ravinj]

Sony NEX-5 First Impressions Review

[Guest badbob]

....Though I have to say I would like to post some of my dlux 4 images from India,,,I think even you "big boys" will be impressed.How do I do that?and would anyone care,,,hahah!!wrong forum,,,ah well!!

 

There are enough posts here about the Sony and the Panasonics that I think you could slip in a few DLux4 photos, and nobody would mind. A lot of X1 users have owned the DL4, or might even buy one yet.

[vicpeh]

The menus in the NEXs are actually quite easy to access but not intuitive enough for a serious photographer.

 

There's no doubt that the sensor in the NEX is superior to 4/3 and I dare say the X1's but the current kit lenses just cannot make it for me. I have tried Alpha mount CZ lenses via adaptor on the NEXs and the IQ is simply astounding. Problem here is the size and no AF even on SSM/SAM Alpha lenses.

 

I'm waiting for some good E mount lenses before getting one.

 

Taken at local NEX launch :-

 

NEX3 with Sony G 70-200mm @ 70mm, F2.8, ISO 200:

 

NEX5 with CZ 135mm @ F2.8, ISO 320:

Edited June 8, 2010 by vicpeh

[ravinj]

Anybody getting ready to buy the Sony Nex 5 next month?

 

It's autofocus is much faster than X1. Very tempting

 

Most of us didn't buy X1 for its "fast" autofocus. We bought it because it delivers where it matters most in the type of photography we do: stellar IQ that easily compares to the likes of Nikon D300s in a compact package.

[jaapv]

DPReview is less than enthusiastic - gives it a rating of 63 and advises to wait for a next model - and the X1 is not even in the compare list.

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[jsrockit]

NEX5 with CZ 135mm @ F2.8, ISO 320:

 

You can take a picture of this beauty with a cell phone and I'd still be impressed...