NEX-7......Now I'm not so sure...

I was really excited about the Sony NEX-7, it seemed to be the perfect camera for using legacy glass, lots of external controls, EVF, great body and what I hoped was going to be an excellent sensor but I can't help but feel the NEX-5N would be a better choice in some ways.

There's some differing of opinion about the NEX-7 sensor vs the NEX-5N sensor. The 5N has a cleaner chip, there's no doubting it but many are quick to argue that downscaling an image from the 7 to the size of a 5N yields similar noise performance but then what's the point of buying a camera with a 24mp chip? Obviously you can potentially make larger prints from an image from the 7 but 16mp should be enough for most people anyway, a 20x30 inch print from that chip would look fine as long as you didn't press your nose against it!

The other disappointment is that the offset microlenses on the NEX-5N sensor appear to be absent on the 7!

This feature is desirable because it goes some way to fixing the major problems when using wide angle lenses with short registration mounts such as rangefinder lenses. Because the rear of the lens is so close to the sensor the light rays hitting the edge are at a very oblique angle and this causes optical defects, offset microlenses account for this and cause the light rays to hit the photosites at a less oblique angle which improves resolution and reduces colour casts. This is the main thing that makes me no longer want this camera!

Obviously the 7 is better made than the 5N and has better external controls and is more sophisticated and has more features but it seems for someone who has an interest in using adapted lenses that the 5N is the better choice, it has the potential to deliver better image quality with legacy glass!


I have an NEX-5 and I want an NEX-5N but I cannot afford one for the foreseeable future! Babies are expensive so I guess I'll have to start saving!


I have considered adding some small ads to this site but let's be honest, I'm not exactly world famous and I think finding out my annual advertising commission is £5 would just be a depressing reflection of how little my blog gets seen!

Pentax Q and C-mount Lenses = A predictable disappointment!

I did have my doubts about using adapted lenses on the new Pentax Q and they have just been confirmed by DC Watch.

Whilst the very small sensor promises full frame coverage with most C and D-mount lenses it's important to remember that the photosites on the sensor are incredibly tiny and most lenses simply cannot resolve enough detail to keep up. One combination in particular that had me salivating was the Q mated with the Pentax 8-48mm F/1.0 which would equate to a 46-267mm F/1.0 (in terms of light gathering) but it just isn't going to deliver any sort of usable image quality.

The camera does better with SLR lenses that tend to be capable of much higher resolutions so there is still some potential for interesting combinations, a 200mm F/2.8 would become an 1100mm which could have some interesting applications although even with SLR lenses I suspect only the very sharpest would be up to the job. If you're not interested in extreme telephoto then you're still best off using SLR lenses with 4/3 or larger sensors with all the associated benefits such as lower noise and shallower depth of field.

I would expect that modern megapixel CCTV lenses would perform somewhat better but they cost as much if not more as native Q lenses so what's the point? It's a shame really but I was expecting it to happen, there's just no way these old video lenses can deliver enough resolution to feed the tiny pixels in the Pentax Q It's still a cute camera and I know that the native lenses are very decent but it terms of using it for all those c and d-mount lenses that won't work on your 4/3 cam I'm afraid it's a no go!

Here's the link to the DC Watch article where they test several lenses all with disappointing results.

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/special/20111020_484895.html