Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Any Sony NEX-5N users here?

D

dzigg

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 20, 2007
99
0
I'm really interested in buying this camera. I'm a newb at photography so the automatic setting would really help me, also the touch screen for auto focus is a neat feature to have. But it also have some manual capability so I can learn also. The size and weight really interest me, there's no way I'll be lugging heavy DSLR everywhere, so this small form-factor camera holds a true value for me.

Gonna use it mostly for everyday and traveling photos (my mom going to europe for a couple of weeks so she probably gonna use it), also a bit of youtube video making for my dad..

I do have passion for design, so this camera hopefully can increase my design 'sense'

So anyone with NEX-5N camera like to share their experience?

A specific question about using it as a video cam, some say it has overheating issue (would shutdown itself after approx. 28 min) is this true?

Also, is there anyway I can directly send the video to my Macbook Air bypassing the memory card? (IIRC called a continuous shooting)

Thx guys
 
Hi - I've got one. Really happy with it. (Wanted something smaller than my DSLR). Cracking second camera.

Really bought it as a small video camera (at some point toying with an underwater housing). As such I'm really impressed. I did end up using (buying) Premiere Elements to edit the AVCHD video though.

Stills are good - find the noise is a bit odd - sort of painterly in effect - but that's probably operator error on my part.

Controls are a bit odd and fiddly but the angling screen is very nice.

The high ISO shots are impressive.

Thought the panorama feature was going to be a gimmick but - wow it really works!

Have no idea about bypassing the Memory card (not sure why you'd want to do that) - I thought continuous shooting was just holding the button down and getting lots of shots :cool:

Let me know if I've missed anything you'd like to know.

----------

Oh, sorry - just seen your bit about learning manual photography. If that's what you want to do I'd advise a cheap SLR body (Canon?) and say the 1.4 plastic lens. The Sony doesn't have many lenses (the zoom it comes with is a 3.5-5.6) so when playing with depth of field etc isn't so obvious what you're doing. In my opinion it is really a customisable point and shoot or a very fine pocketable video camera.
 
Thx for replying.

Ah yes, about the 60 fps AVCHD, does iMovies still not support it? How about FCP? Really hoping I don't have to buy a new software for it.

About bypasing the memory card and going straight into my MBA,I want to do it so I can take long recording without having to worry running out of space. Can I just plug it thorugh USB and software like FCP would magically detect it and stream the recording to the MBA?

Yeah I was thinking about buying T3i instead, but for now, the size and portability of NEX-5N is far more useful for me. You're suggesting SLR body just because of the lens or is there any other reason? Isn't there an adapter so you can use normal lens on NEX-5N?

I just want to get comfortable with the whole ISO, shutter speed, etc. After that and if it interest me, I would probably go for entry level DSLR,we'll see :)

Thx for all your input bro, cheers.
 
I own one and I love it. I prefer shooting with my D700, but seriously the Nex is so much more smaller & lighter ...


Quality of photos is just as good as any d-SLR with a kit lens. I bought the 50mm F1.8 lens as well, and the results are awesome (same as using a 50mm prime on a d-SLR, mind you)


Videos are super nice as well (bye bye HDR-SR11 camcorder). I've bought the external microphone that goes with it and it makes quite a difference for filming clips, especially outside.


I stopped using IMovie in favor of Premiere Elements 10. I'm tired of the "secondary routes" required in IMovie to obtain a quality 1080p MP4 file when you export. I don't really want to talk about post-processing software for photos videos because I've been saying for years : "All the software is available as 30 days trials. Try them out yourself and see what you prefer using instead of asking others"



All in all, highly recommended for any occasion don't feel like lugging a d-SLR around.
 
Kallel00 said:
I own one and I love it. I prefer shooting with my D700, but seriously the Nex is so much more smaller & lighter ...


Quality of photos is just as good as any d-SLR with a kit lens. I bought the 50mm F1.8 lens as well, and the results are awesome (same as using a 50mm prime on a d-SLR, mind you)


Videos are super nice as well (bye bye HDR-SR11 camcorder). I've bought the external microphone that goes with it and it makes quite a difference for filming clips, especially outside.


I stopped using IMovie in favor of Premiere Elements 10. I'm tired of the "secondary routes" required in IMovie to obtain a quality 1080p MP4 file when you export. I don't really want to talk about post-processing software for photos videos because I've been saying for years : "All the software is available as 30 days trials. Try them out yourself and see what you prefer using instead of asking others"



All in all, highly recommended for any occasion don't feel like lugging a d-SLR around.
Click to expand...

Thank you, finally take the plunge and now I have nex-5n in my hands.. It's amazing stuff! I'm still getting used to the controls,but with a little tweak, I can control almost anything easily with manual settings.

I love how small it is, compared to my buddy's DSLR. I've been carying it to the office for these last few days and hardly notice the weight.

I'll be looking for that 50mm f1.8 lens, but probably for later as I'm cash strap right now, lol

Planning to buy external recorder (Zoom H1) also Eye-fi pro2 so I can easily transfer files to my MBA / iPad, gonna be really awesome.

For photos I'm using Lightroom 4, not too expensive and the feature is incredible.

What about final cut pro X? anyone reccomend it for use with NEX?
 
dzigg said:
What about final cut pro X? anyone reccomend it for use with NEX?
Click to expand...


30 days trial available for Final Cut Pro X, try it out ;)))


For people who have been using lightroom for years, it's a godsend that it finally supports video files. The most annoying thing about shooting video is whenever you import & reformat your card, video files numbers get reset to 0. You end up with 0001.MTS, 0002.MTS, 0004.MTS files, etc.

So whenever I import MTS files in Lightroom, I import them in a subfolder with a date of import (doesn't really matter). So while I end up with duplicate file names in my Videos folder, it's okay because they're in sub folders.

Where Lightroom shines is that it has the option of letting you see all thumbnails in subfolders if you select this or that main folder (awesome for managing photos as well). So then you can select all your videos (even if they're in subfolders), and rename everything to get rid of duplicate names. And well, since you're also seeing a thumbnail preview of videos, it makes it easier to rename using specific names like "DisneyTrip-2012-001.MTS" ;)

I use Elements 10 for actual editing
 
Hi,

I'm also about to take the plunge and get a NEX-5N. I'm also a newbie so would you mind clarifying what software I'll need please? Will I not be able to import both photos and videos using iPhoto and iMovies?

Also, does it matter that type of memory card I choose as the camera can take a range of different types - MS Duo, Pro Duo, HG Duo, SDHC and SDHX (exFAT only).

Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm also about to buy the Sony TX-20 which I'm guessing will have the same needs.

Cheers!
 
Livers said:
Do you use iPhoto and iMovie or something else with it?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Photos would import fine to iPhoto.

Movies is also imported fine to iMovie, EXCEPT the highest quality video which is 60 fps AVCHD that is not properly supported AFIIK (CMIIW). For this, currently I'm using a trial version of Adobe Premiere Pro, which takes time of getting used to interface-wise.

It's a brilliant camera, altho currently I can't play with it since my mom brought it for a trip to europe.

Hope that helps :)
 
I use DxO Optics to process my photos, you need to turn off the internal camera corrections for it to work on jpegs but the results look great.
 
I love mine.

I work heavy with it, here´s a music video clip i done with the Nex 5n only.
https://vimeo.com/37920172

Remember you can adapt almost any lens available. Nice Auto mode for newbies, great at lowlight, i have other Sony cameras but the 5n still my favorite.
 
jeremy h said:
[/COLOR]Oh, sorry - just seen your bit about learning manual photography. If that's what you want to do I'd advise a cheap SLR body (Canon?) and say the 1.4 plastic lens. The Sony doesn't have many lenses (the zoom it comes with is a 3.5-5.6) so when playing with depth of field etc isn't so obvious what you're doing. In my opinion it is really a customisable point and shoot or a very fine pocketable video camera.
Click to expand...

I'd respectfully disagree here. Between the Sony 16, 24, and 50 along side the Sigma 19 & 30 there is a decent (not GREAT but decent) spread of native primes. If you are looking to get to know manual photography I would *highly* recommend the NEX system with an adapter and an older lens system (M42, LTM, Minolta MD, etc.) the NEX is much easier to use than most APS-C SLRs because of the live view, histogram, and focus peaking. It is almost to easy once you get over the quick learning curve! With my DSLR I was contemplating putting in a focusing screen because critical focus was so hard to determine with these cameras designed for AF lenses.

Otherwise I agree with what was said 100%.
 
Thanks for the info!

I was considering returning the camera due to this inability to edit in iMovie. However, it seems I was wrong about the T3i. I don't think you can edit its 1080p files in iMovie either. Does iMovie support any 1080p DSLR/Camcorder?

... and, I REALLY like the NEX 5N. I've only had it for a day, but I'm quite impressed.

As it is, I can import the pics and videos (MP4) to the iPad 1. I can't edit the videos, but the iPad will play them. I can wait until I get home from vacation to edit!
 
Last edited:
I just purchased a 5n and took a trip to Chicago with my wife last weekend. I think the 5n is a perfect bridge between everyday small sensor point-and-shoots and a big, pro-quality DSLR. I really wanted something smaller to carry around, and the iAuto setting does a great job, but there are some really cool things you can do with the manual settings. The touch-to-focus setting is really helpful on guick shooting, too. I took over 250 pics last weekend in various settings, and most turned out great. I'll post a couple links to full res pics when I get a chance. I love this camera. :)
 
Bdub12 said:
Thanks for the info!

I was considering returning the camera due to this inability to edit in iMovie. However, it seems I was wrong about the T3i. I don't think you can edit its 1080p files in iMovie either. Does iMovie support any 1080p DSLR/Camcorder?

... and, I REALLY like the NEX 5N. I've only had it for a day, but I'm quite impressed.

As it is, I can import the pics and videos (MP4) to the iPad 1. I can't edit the videos, but the iPad will play them. I can wait until I get home from vacation to edit!
Click to expand...

Yep, it's a great camera.. one thing that would make this camera perfect for me is better video stabilization..

You can see this blog post about editing 1080p video on iPad :link

My mom took the camera with her on a trip to Europe, she's no photographer by any stretch, and keeps the sony on auto intellegence mode, but it turns out pretty good.. :)
 
Bdub12 said:
Can you import NEX 5N mp4 files into iMovie on the iPad?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried importing the video into iMovie, but I do know that using the MP4 recording mode (1440x1080p), the videos import and play just fine in the photos app on the iPad 3. I would imagine they would import into iMovie no problem.
 
The NEX-5N is a great camera, but I find the unbalanced weight and the lack of an OVF (which, granted that the camera is an EVIL, is unavoidable) a little off-settling.
 
I remembered I was going to post a pic taken with my NEX-5N, here's a shot of my dog Layla through our new garden. This was taken with the kit lens in iAuto mode, with a slight manual focus enhancement, jpeg with no post-editing. I used the focus peaking feature to dial in on her face, and snapped the pic.

DSC00539.jpg
 
I have the NEX-C3 and am loving the camera a lot. It makes a novice photographer such as myself look like someone who knows what he's doing. I do sort of regret not getting the 5N especially with the touch screen so you can easily focus on a specific spot on the photo you take.


Photo of my cat taken with the NEX-C3.
 
I have this camera and love it to bits! The video mode is awesome! I wish there was a mic input though. Anyways, can't wait for the NEX-F5 in the summer!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back