Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Sony NEX-5N Review

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Sony NEX-5N

The Sony NEX-5N is part of Sony’s second go-round at the mirrorless camera format. The NEX-3 and NEX-5 were largely regarded as a success – and for the most part the NEX-C3 and NEX-5N models which followed on a year later have been held with similar regard.

What you need to know up front is that the Sony NEX-5N is not a perfect camera.  It’s a solid (bordering on excellent) offering from Sony; however, it has some niggling problems and concerns that take some of the luster off of it.  (Update 11/9/11:  The core defect appears to have been fixed. See details below.) [Read more…]

 

Steve Huff Gets Up Close with the NEX-7

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Hp7Usun6U  w=640&h=360]

As you can see in the above video, Steve Huff got an up close look at one of the first Sony NEX-7 production models out there.  Notably, there are a lot of similarities between the NEX-7 and the NEX-5N – particularly in the menu system.  Obviously, the additional of external controls sets the NEX-7 somewhat apart, and then, there’s no noticeable clicking noise that plagues the NEX-5N, which may or may not have a fix.  Finally, there’s the whopping 24MP sensor, which seems to produce admirable results based on everything we’ve seen thus far.

[Steve Huff via SonyAlphaRumors]

RED EPIC Takes a Ride on a R/C Octocopter

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Ever wonder what it would be like to strap a $60k camera to a radio controlled octocopter?  Well, someone dreamed up the idea of putting a RED EPIC on one of these devices and produced the stunning results you see in the above video.

To get a better idea of the potential of this rig, check out the below video shot with the Sony FS100 riding on the OM-copter. [Read more…]

Sony Full Frame 36MP Camera to Follow Nikon D800

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Sony A99

Recent rumors purport to make the Nikon D800 a “sure thing” for a 2011 announcement.  While a follow-up to the Nikon D700 is overdue in terms of camera life expectancy, the biggest “shocker” of the rumor suggests a 36MP full frame sensor in the D800.

Nikon has relied on Sony for its past full frame sensors, and so, it seems logical that Sony would make use of such a sensor in its own Alpha-series DSLRs as well (as in the Nikon D3X and Sony A900 models).  And that me be what’s to come with a new full frame Sony camera sporting the same 36MP Sony sensor to be found in the Nikon D800. [Read more…]

Editing Sony NEX-5n 60p Footage in Final Cut Pro X

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Sony NEX-5n

The more I use the new Sony NEX-5n, the more I like it (notwithstanding the clicking problem).  One thing that really makes the NEX-5n stand out among competitors is the ability to capture HD video at 1080/60p (i.e., 59.94 progressive frames per second).  This makes for smooth motion, but also gives you the option to conform to footage to a slower frame rate and get some cool slow motion in your 24p projects.

With the recent update to Final Cut Pro X, I was hoping that Apple would add support for additional codecs, like the relatively new (yet, increasingly popular) AVCHD 2.0; however, it did not.  As a result, working with video from cameras shooting 60p AVCHD 2.0 footage (like the Sony NEX-5n) brings a bit of a problem when importing the files from your camera.

I’ve already covered how to import AVCHD files into Final Cut Pro X; however, working with AVCHD 2.0 files at 60p requires another step to get the footage into FCP X.  Still yet, it’s not so bad. [Read more…]

Sony NEX-5n First Impressions Review

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Sony NEX-5n

I’ve had the Sony NEX-5n in hand for all of a day now; however, I already have some quick first impressions to share.

First up, its a very fun camera to use.  Quick response from shutter and focus.  Autofocus is also very good in video mode.  The face tracking AF during video recording seems to be very smart and smooth all the way around.

It’s also very compact – with the biggest part being the lens, which is rather bulky on the otherwise tiny camera.  That’s the nature of the beast though, particularly considering that it is an 18-55mm zoom lens that’s including in a very affordable kit package. [Read more…]

Sony NEX-5n Overheating Issue is Not Really an Issue

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I’ve seen some forum and blog postings about the Sony NEX-5n having an overheating issue.  As you can see in the above “Overheating Test” video, it records for over 23 minutes before shutting down.

Those large CMOS sensors generate a lot of heat.  And while they are great for producing bokeh-filled cinematic shots, they can’t quite replace the endless recording times of camcorders.  But camcorders can’t give you the awesome bokeh you get out of the NEX-5n and its ilk (of course there are APS-C format camcorders, but they start at around $2000 and go way up from there). [Read more…]