Sony Nex-5 as a portrait camera

[Leen Koper]

What do people on this forum think about the new Sony NEX-5 camera for studio portraiture purposes?

I still love the old vieuwfinder of my medium format camera and this camera could provide an opportunity to use it with a viewing angle that might look like a waist level vieuwfinder with it tilting capacities. I do know the camera is extremely small, but I don't care about it looking like a lens with a small attachment.
I just have to figure out how the flash works, but in case of emergency I always can attach an infrared filter in front of the provided flash; this way my studio flash will work.
Up to today there are no low light portrait lenses available, but I could always use the 'big' Carl Zeiss lenses, as far as I know, with an adapter, be it they are only MF.

What is your opinion about it?

[Stany Buyle]

If you like it because of the swift LCD, a Nikon D5000 could be an option for you...
Great little camera with the latest and probably best IQ among the long existing 12Mp nikon- (read: Sony) sensor generation...

[Leen Koper]

I humbly bow my head. I didnot think about it. I am ashamed. When I've got time I 'll go to the dealer to look at it.

[Leen Koper]

Stany, I took your advice and now I' m a proud owner of a D5000.
Now it is just waiting for the battery to be charged.

[Stany Buyle]

Stany, I took your advice and now I' m a proud owner of a D5000.
Now it is just waiting for the battery to be charged.

Conngratulations. Looking foreward to your findings how it behaves compared to a professional body like your D700.

[Leen Koper]

Still waiting for the battery to charge. The camera has one problem so far: I need to read the manual. The manuals of my D90 and D700 are still wrapped in the plastic they came in.

[Leen Koper]

I used this camera today to photograph a young lady. The camera worked wonderful, about the same quality as my D90. Not surprisingly, because they seem to share the same sensor.
The way to use the folding display worked wonderful, it works like expected; it is just like using a medium format camera vieuwfinder. The only problem I had was the image in a MF camera works the other way around, so I often moved the wrong direction. Funny how, 8 years after of using such 'tiny' SLRs one still reacts like using a MF camera.
The downsides: The AF is extremely slow in Live View mode, but it is pretty reliable. It takes quite some time before you can review the results. Although bad news, this slow action, it gives a lot of time between the shots; not a bad thing in portraiture as I always rejected the shotgun approach.

If I only could download all the images to my computer I would be extremely happy; unfortunately after downloading about 25 images my card reader wouldnot. I 'm still working on that problem.

[Stany Buyle]

If I only could download all the images to my computer I would be extremely happy; unfortunately after downloading about 25 images my card reader wouldnot. I 'm still working on that problem.

If you would have problems with the card itself, CardRecovery program does an incredible job to recover pictures from a corrupted card.
http://www.cardrecovery.com/

[Leen Koper]

After using the D5000 for some time in the studio now, here are some conclusions.
The AF works flawlessly. Just the button to shift your focus does bother me; one touches it too easely by accident, resulting in the focus being somewhere you don't want it to be.
The AF takes in live view mode a lot of time, often too much.
I need a remote control, because the risk of touching the joystick control happens too often.
It is a wonderful experience to have a waist level viewfinder again. Just like a Mamiya 645 again.

In hindsight, I should have bought a Sony NEX-5. This camera is more suitable for "live view" than the D5000, but there is one problem to it: there are too little lenses available (comparable to about 60-150) for it. But the D5000 will do until more Sony lenses will be available.
However, I don't regret buying the D5000.

[pam.meier]

I bought a NEX 3 for my vacation in Thailand in December and I´m exploring it these days. It´s the two kit lens kit, 16 mm and 18-55 OIS. Both lenses need to be stopped down to be really sharp.

So it was not love at first sight, but I wanted this to be the camera I had wanted for a long time.
It is nice to handle and the menus are easy to understand. Some may find it a little tedious to dig into menus all the time. But I find it ok.

Some fast primes are needed badly, so is ACR support. I am convinced that the NEX system will eventually work if Sony does their homework and will provide good lenses with it.

[Stany Buyle]

I bought a NEX 3 for my vacation in Thailand in December and I´m exploring it these days.

Vacation was in Thailand or is coming? If it "was" I would like to see the pictures, if it still has to come, I'mp looking foreward to the pictures...

[pam.meier]

It will be Dec 8-22 2010. I plan to bring a gorilla pod and the NEX only.

[Leen Koper]

I am too very curiuos how your NEX will do in December and whether it has quality enough for studio purposes. I still could make a switch depending on your findings.
And yes, some quality lenses are needed, but I don't know if we can expect any as it is apparently meant for the amateur market.

[pam.meier]

Well, I don´t have a link, but Sony management said there will be Zeiss lenses for NEX in an interview.
They obviously have high hopes in the system, I guess they don´t seem to be as successful in the DSLR market as they hoped..

[Leen Koper]

After using the D5000 camera for some months now I came to a slightly different conclusion; it is for sale now. The AF is too slow to be used as a decent portrait camera in the studio. It focuses too slow -if it focuses- and it takes too long before you can see what you have done.
It is a pity, because I love the way it works; it brings back the sweet memories of the MF era with its waist level viewfinders.

[pam.meier]

What a pity! I have never handled a D5000 myself, but I conclude that the NEX´s AF system is slower as it is really a compact camera.

[Leen Koper]

The main problem is in the AF.
The contrast detect system in live view mode does work that slowly that it is practically not usable, especially when compared to the phase detection system when I 'm using the camera in the "normal" mode, without the "waist level" viewfinder.
Until I 've sold the camera I 'll be using it this way. Then it is, no doubt, an adequate camera which leaves very little to be desired.
Conclusion: an excellent camera, especially for its money, but not for the live view mode. Unfortunately that 's the reason why I bought it.