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Sony NEX with Leica Optics


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Compromise, yes, that is a good word. There is still nothing to compare to an M rangefinder for ease of use. If one of the things that you want for your equipment is for it not to get in your way the M is still streets ahead. But the little Ricoh is very usable - I used it a lot in Palermo, for instance.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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Thank you Bill, I have just found you GXR pictures and findings. "Good" is subjective. Reminds me of Rolls-Royce, which would describe horsepower as "adequate". ;) I think

you have some excellent results, but it seems focusing can be fiddly. My impression is that all these APS ILC cameras (or whatever you want to call them) offer an interesting alternative way of using Leica M glass, but are still something of a compromise.

 

Every camera is a compromise in some way or other. The M9 fits most of my needs well, but there are still a lot if things I can't do efficiently with the M9 and that a DSLR is too big and cumbersome (getting a moving 2 yr old at close range indoors for example). So, i can use a lightweight, flexible AF camera with flash and video. Decent image quality and the ability to use my M lenses is an added bonus.

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Thanks Jim,

But, you know, I have the Ricoh with the zoom module and I like it.

However, I do believe I will be putting my money into a Sony NEX-7.

I really like the Ricoh just as it is…. and use it with the electronic viewfinder!

I’m just blown away by these Sonys!

 

You might want to read Steve Huff's comparison article-NEX-7, NEX-5n and GXRM. Interesting read for us.

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The M mount from Ricoh is the only third party lensholder with sensor which is very close to the given specifications for M lenses and equiv.

 

The NEX7/5 might be spectacular in terms of technical datas but the M specs are very delicate......

Adapted SLR lenses from Leica ® and others might be ok due to their wider distance to the sensor but we have to wait and see......

 

The GXR mount with it's very conservative 12 MP sensor AND missing AA filter plus shifted microlenses is the long awaited and requested upgrade-program from Leica in terms of sensor change.

Sony doesn't care about the side effect of lens adaption - they want to sell their own stuff which is ok.....

 

Good thing that whatever they were planning with the sensor in the 5N and left out of the NEX7 works so beautifully with the M lenses. All this blah blah blah about the GXR M-Mount is just that, their focusing aids and EVF are inferior so what does it matter? The 5N rules the roost until your ready to go for an M.

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Guest Holy Moly

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Good thing that whatever they were planning with the sensor in the 5N and left out of the NEX7 works so beautifully with the M lenses. All this blah blah blah about the GXR M-Mount is just that, their focusing aids and EVF are inferior so what does it matter? The 5N rules the roost until your ready to go for an M.

 

Digital Ms have too many issues (for me) so I avoid buying one since the introduction of the M8......

BTW: what would be your strategy to record the lenses for each photograph while shooting with the NEX and M lenses for the later corner fix operation:

 

iPhone, notebook with pencil or just plain memory?.......:cool:

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Good thing that whatever they were planning with the sensor in the 5N and left out of the NEX7 works so beautifully with the M lenses. All this blah blah blah about the GXR M-Mount is just that, their focusing aids and EVF are inferior so what does it matter? The 5N rules the roost until your ready to go for an M.

 

The focusing aid is a FW matter and the EVF an accessory. Both can easily be bettered by FW upgrade and by releasing a new EVF with better specs respectively. What can't be improved though is the sensor, user interface and form factor. UI and form factor are a matter of personal preferences.

However, a sensor without AA filter and with offsetting microlenses is a technical reality which the Sony does not offer and this is why its files produced with m-lenses are not quite at the GXR level.

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Good thing that whatever they were planning with the sensor in the 5N and left out of the NEX7 works so beautifully with the M lenses. All this blah blah blah about the GXR M-Mount is just that, their focusing aids and EVF are inferior so what does it matter? The 5N rules the roost until your ready to go for an M.

 

It's not about the image then..? :rolleyes:

 

Regards

 

Bill

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It's not about the image then..? :rolleyes:

 

Regards

 

Bill

 

heh, for ME it is also about enjoying photography. Better tools make it more enjoyable.

 

re: EVF is just an accessory, etc. True, but then, the problem of the GXR is (for me) that the magnified live view is grainy and low resolution, thus very hard to judge focus. thats a limitation thats sensor driven, because the A12 Sensor is not capable of outputting a "video" stream at that high a resolution. Sonys 16MP Sensor seems to be much better at this, the NEX magnified live view is high res and suitable for focusing.

 

I agree fully that a rangefinder works better for focusing. Unfortunately there is no ergonomic M body available...I own(ed) both M8 and GXR (sans M module, for now), and the GXR is a way easier camera to handle. EV comp buttons, nice menu system, fast, good screen, a nice body to hold, etc.

 

That being said, I think working and focusing M primes works better on the NEX, everything else is nicer on the GXR (if you don't need AF, as the AF of the APS-C modules is dreadful).

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...I agree fully that a rangefinder works better for focusing...
For wide-angle lenses, bur for 35mm lenses and above the Ricoh GXR M-Module is easier to focus — although I like the rangefinder on the M6. The GXR-M has better image quality ay high ISO than either the M8 or the M9, and has more accurate coiler and better white balance as well.

 

—Mitch/Chiang Mai

Ricoh GXR M-Module

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For wide-angle lenses, bur for 35mm lenses and above the Ricoh GXR M-Module is easier to focus — although I like the rangefinder on the M6. The GXR-M has better image quality ay high ISO than either the M8 or the M9, and has more accurate coiler and better white balance as well.

 

—Mitch/Chiang Mai

Ricoh GXR M-Module

 

 

Please, prove it.

 

Thanks, K-H.

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Guest malland
Please, prove it...
Look at some of the images made with my GXR-M and Leica lenses, but it doesn't matter if you don't believe me, since I take it you haven't used all three cameras. And please note that I wrote "some of my pictures" because this conclusions is based on my experience with having shot with the three cameras, but not in having run comparative tests.

 

What I have found is that —let's stick with color — the GXR-M files usually require less adjustment and work to get them to how I want them look. For high ISO files there is an obvious improvement in image quality in the GXR-M and for base ISO, the better white balance and superior color accuracy is compelling, but, again, you don't have to believe me. The one advantage of the M8 and M9 files that has been suggested to me by someone who has looked at this is that the M8/M9 files may have more richness in the mid-tones, but I have not seen this myself.

 

—Mitch/Chiang Mai

Ricoh GXR M-Module

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Somewhat related... if you haven't seen the EVF in the Sony Nex 7 (and clip on EVF for the 5N) I think it is worth a look. I believe more than ever that if Leica can incorporate a similar viewfinder or clip on one in some kind of full frame body, they not only will make the current, past and future M lenses more useful but will provide R lens owners with a very good updated digital photography solution.

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Guest malland

I haven't seen the EVF for the NEX-5N but it, and the one in the NEX-7, look like the best ones around. I am sure that the one for the Ricoh GXR is nowhere near as good, but it is serviceable, and it is the image quality with wide-angle M-lenses that is my overriding considerations. From what I've seen on the web, the GXR M-Module does better is this respect than the 5N and it also looks like it's color rendition appeals to me more than those of the NEX-5N and the NEX-7, but I won't really be sure of this until I see a real test, like the ones Sean Reid does so well and so authoritatively.

 

—Mitch/Chiang Mai

Days and Nights in the Forest (WIP)

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Steve Huff's results with Leica wides on the Nex 7 look very disappointing indeed. Is this a firmware issue, or a sensor problem?

 

Looks to me like the Nex 7 is a bit of a dud, with more noise at high ISO than the 5N as well.

 

The 5N is tempting, for a small package, with Leica glass. Price is also very good. Are they very rugged?

 

Cheers

John

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