DxOmark: The Sony NEX-5n is the new king of the whole mirrorless world.
DxOmark (Click here) just posted the full NEX-5n sensor review. The test measures the RAW sensor performance without to take into the account the actual resolution. What’s the result? The Sony NEX-5n results to have the best available sensor in the whole mirrorless camera world. With an overall score of 77 points it beats the rest of the world. Click the links below to see the comparisons:
NEX-5n versus NEX-C3 versus Fuji X100.
The NEX-5n also easily beats the new Nikon V1 and Nikon J1 camera sensor.
And it’s only one single point behind the A77.
No way for the Olympus E-P3 and Samsung NX11 to get close to the NEX-5n.
Really an amazing result. And that the NEX-5n is a hot-seller can be easily seen at the Amazon mirrorless camera/lens rankings (Click here). Guess who is on first place? 
Now let’s hope there will be no more “click” issues on the new stock of cameras. I am sending my NEX-5n to Sony service to make it repair.
Check the NEX-5n price and availability by clicking those links: Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay. Also the external viewfinder is available in most stores: Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
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Comment from alphafan2011: dont know which lens DxO uses to test th...
Linh
8 months ago |No surprise here.
Aldo
8 months ago |the surprise would be that the “click” when recording video disappeared with the supposed “firmware update” which they say will come out in a few days … hopefully some for not sending the camera to the repair
alphafan2011
8 months ago |wow impressive result, now im sure, I will buy a NEX-5N, wait until the clicking is fixed but then … yeah.
Beats the A77 in every category above ISO 100 !!! thats great!
SonyA77
8 months ago |Except the megapix, AF speed, fps, handling, amount of lenses etc., categories. Peoples fixation with ISO is just weird.
alphafan2011
8 months ago |yes, cause image quality is the most important for me as I plan to print some large wallpapers/posters for friends. and megapix isnt an argument for me, cause 16 MP is definately more than enough.
10 fps is for that price also really great. amount of lenses isnt that important for me cause I am new to that cameras and I dont have older lenses and as a student Im also not planning to buy 10-15 lenses, only 2-3.
But yes, the AF speed and handling should be better with the A77, but I dont need that. AF with the NEX-5N isnt bad, handling will be ok with some training and maybe they introduce touch focusing AND shooting. so its ok. together with its compactness and its price, the NEX-5N is a really big deal in my opinion!
mXim
8 months ago |That is good, but does it make a difference in the output? For many situations, I think not.
Depending on which capabilities you need, the cameras will perform differently. Try taking a picture of something moving with the NEX. The camera is close to useless for action, but it doesn’t make the camera bad. Try shooting a bat in a cave with the A77. Probably quite useless, still it is not a bad camera.
David
8 months ago |Haha, yes of course it makes a different to output.. better lenses, more resolution, handling so you can change settings and GET the shot.
I wouldn’t buy a 5N because the interface would annoy the hell out of me.
alphafan2011
8 months ago |yes right, I didn’t say, that the A77 is a bad camera. It’s a very nice camera but in my opinion the new 16 MP sensor would have fitted more (more frames burst, lower noise and so on).
And yes, for both cams you have to accept some disadvantages. the NEX-5N problems with handling (of course as a result of its nice small body) and AF speed … the A77 with more noise, higher price and so on.
Both cams aren’t perfect and in my opinion also for very fast action even the A77 isn’t the best cam on the marked, its better than the NEX-5N for it, but there are better choices of course.
And with some training and time you also get nice looking pics with reduced noise after processing raw for example from the A77 and you also can shoot some moving objects, for example with prefocusing. The shutter lag is very short.
Daemonius
8 months ago |Only mirrorless that really can compete with dSLRs. Finally.. (except M9, but thats rangefinder)
Joe
8 months ago |I don’t think M9 is good “technical” camera. It has bad ISO performance, and the color reproduction is not ideal at time. What it has an edge over other cameras is the per-pixel sharpness level and the rangefinder mechanism itself.
David
8 months ago |Plus rich hobbyists buy it to look cool. Most Leica shooters aren’t even photographers.. just gear whore.
Daemonius
8 months ago |Actually I know quite a bit of pros using M9 for work. Its not just for gear whores and theres more ppl using M9s than those who just “have it”.
ISO performace isnt that bad, but ofc its not NEX-5N. Color is.. well, some like it, some dont. Some love it.
But sure, it could have more color accuracy.
Main downsides for me is price and that its quite slow camera. But otherwise, its near perfect for me. Yea and its dustmagnet, they should use Olympus/Panasonic dust-shaking technology.
Edge is in sharpness and Leica M lens. Nothing renders photos as Leica lens. You can use rangefinder lens on NEX, but its APS-C and its definetly not optimised.
Theres only very few things that can beat M9+M lens in terms of output quality. Pretty much only MF cameras.
jvardrake
8 months ago |“Theres only very few things that can beat M9+M lens in terms of output quality. Pretty much only MF cameras. ”
Would you please support this claim with some tests / reviews?
I doubt you will be able to, as there are cameras that perform much better for a lot less money. They might not make you feel as good when you hold it (that *is* a special quality, to be sure), but don’t fool yourself about performance.
Daemonius
8 months ago |http://www.lenstip.com/205.1-Lens_review-Leica_Summicron-M_50_mm_f_2.0-Introduction.html
Very interesting.. Tho there are better lens than that. But thats not much important..
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1049533/0
This is important, plus I recommand visiting that guys homepage. Btw. you cant match M9 + Noctilux 50mm f0.95, cause there simply isnt anything like that.
Yea and Leica isnt overpriced, Leica pricing is perfectly in line with what you get.
Bill G
8 months ago |BUT DOES IT BLEND!
Kevin
8 months ago |I did send my 5N for repair for the clicking (the did fix) took 7 days from ship to repair and back to my grubby little hands !!! Just got my m42 adapter, fun to use.. Great results!!!!!!!
alphafan2011
8 months ago |you have a video, where you can see/hear that the click is away? is it totally gone or more quiet?
Neo NiGHTS ®
8 months ago |Still 3 points bellow the D7000 and 5 points below the K5? WTH?!?
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/%28appareil1%29/737|0/%28brand%29/Sony/%28appareil2%29/676|0/%28brand2%29/Pentax/%28appareil3%29/680|0/%28brand3%29/Nikon
Before anyone complains: I am NOT bashing or saying that the 5N sucks or anything!
Comparing images with the DPReview widget, I got the impression that the 5N was a tiny little bit better than those two I’ve mentioned.
So I only surprised by DxO’s findings.
Anyone could explain that to me, please?
extra|ordinary
8 months ago |I’m a bit surprised as well. I thought the 5N would be a near match for the D7000 and K5. At the very least, I thought the 5N would beat the a580.
Oh well, these test results are just numbers on a page. I suggest we all spend more time enjoying whatever camera we’ve got.
Joe
8 months ago |Well, you need to take a look at the detail measurement instead of the overall score, which based only on the base ISO.
ISO performance: The 5N is in line with these other two. The performance difference is very negligible (for pure number the K5 is the best, but not by much).
Dynamic Range: The 5N fell short from the other two cameras. The K5 is impressive with the dynamic range of a FF camera.
Tonal Range: There is virtually no visible difference between the three.
Color Sensitivity: Same.
Overall, I don’t think people can really distinguish the outputs between these 3. Personally, I think the DxO mark is useful to look at on the technical point of view, but in actual shooting, you should buy a camera based on your need. The IQ of these cameras would exceed the capability of most photographers out there.
ItsaChris
8 months ago |agree that the 5n, k5, and d7000 cameras are close to the same IQ.
But the nex-5 was already the best IQ mirrorless camera out there, and the nex-5n is barely any better. What I dont see is how this is “Really an amazing result”. not only did we know a better sensor would provide better results than the nex-5, we knew one excited and already knew about what to expect.
IsoRiley
8 months ago |It really is amazing when you consider the 5n + NEX pancakes = less calories with a similar amount of cream per serving.
Kevin
8 months ago |Totally gone!! I did a test today and no click!!
David
8 months ago |3 points is probably within margin of error for their testing.
In many scientific fields, 5% is the accepted error level and 3/77 is less than that.
And not like any of us would EVER notice a <5% difference in performance anyway.
mXim
8 months ago |I laught at what I perceive as an obsession about a number. 3 points. What does it represent? How do you actually rate the cameras? The difference is really negligible and performance is much more dependent on what capabilties you need.
Neo NiGHTS ®
8 months ago |It’s not a matter of obsession. It’s just a matter of, OOC, trying to understand how the test works.
Is there anything wrong with that? :p
Daemonius
8 months ago |Cause you have much smaller body to squeeze in electronics. So it simply cant be that good as D7000 and K5. Tho, both are actually “cheating”. Both are smoothing noise at RAW level and K-5 is increasing DR via similar trick.
So you can get similar results via post-processing, if you want (actually you can get probably better results, as computing power of PC and PP software is generally on pretty high level).
GTR2012V
8 months ago |When will the new 5n stock be in without the clicks? Heading on vacation next month. Will they have fixed cameras by then? Anyone know?
Cereal
8 months ago |No, there is most definitely a very nice surprise: *only* 1 point behind the A77.
Let me rephrase that: the A77, with its “unholy” translucent mirror in the way, and with those “ZOMGTERRIBLE WHAT WAS SONY THINKING” 24MP is ahead of the “Have my Babies” 5N.
Do you all realise what that means? Remove the mirror from in front of that A77 sensor, and what you get is a NEX-7 that pulls way ahead of the 5N in DXOMARK score, and probably even beats it in the high ISO score. So much for the “high MP is bad for High Iso performance” wisdom so popular around here and at DPReview.
But hey, you all keep saying the NEX-7 will suck for high ISO. Please. That’ll make it easier to buy one on release day
Neo NiGHTS ®
8 months ago |Well, the A77′s sensor gets one point more for overall score.
But, since you mixed everything up, mentioning the high ISO thing, look more carefully:
The 5N scores 1079 and the A77 scores 801.
Sooooo, in theory, the high ISO complaints still valid
But I bet that Nikon will show us that sensor’s true potential.
Joe
8 months ago |And Nikon will most likely compromise the base ISO performance, color reproduction and tonality. I knew I would be happy with the NEX-7 even before these benchmarks were out.
Neo NiGHTS ®
8 months ago |I’ve just compared the scores between the A580 and the A55 (there’s a significant difference). So, yeah, the Nex7 seems promising too!
Raghav
8 months ago |Based on my totally unscientific calculations (Comparing A55 with A580 & interpolating the findings to the A77), the NEX7 should get a better score than the NEX5N for High ISO.
The A580 is approx 37% better than the A55 at High ISO. So, the NEX7 should also be approx 37% better than the A77.
The NEX7 should get something around 1100 for High ISO. This beats the NEX5N!!!! Hard to believe, but true!!!
This also proves the 30% light loss from the Fixed Mirror.
alphafan2011
8 months ago |well but what you forget is that the scores come out of the maximum values! and the A77 gets only a higher score because it has the ISO 50 … from ISO 100 up the A77 isn’t better than NEX-5N and the NEX-7 doesnt have ISO 50
so if you look at ALL the results you can see, that the NEX-5N will probably still have a better high Iso performance compared to the NEX-7 and at lower Isos they will be at a similar level.
And maybe they also had a better lens on the A77 for those results, cause the NEX-5N doesn’t have great lenses, especially fixed focal lenght ones, they come out now like the 50/1.8 or 24/1.8 Zeiss!
and always not to forget the price, of course its expected that cams with double the price should have better results, not the other way around. So its not the task of the NEX-5N to beat the NEX-7 in image quality!
Neo NiGHTS ®
8 months ago |Actually, when you pay more for a camera, you don’t pay necessarily for “better image quality” (only) but also for other goodies the cheaper camera doesn’t have.
OTOH, does lens sharpness affect the results from DxO?
DPReview doesn’t use NEX lenses for their tests. Probably DxO does the same.
alphafan2011
8 months ago |dont know which lens DxO uses to test the cams. We have to find out. But also the total results are little bit confusing, cause when you look at the details the NEX-5N beats the A77 in nearly every category (SNR, Color, Dynamic range and so on) from ISO 200 upwards. Of course you can try to shoot every pic with ISo 50 on the A77, but most of the time you have to go at least up to ISO 800 or with lower light up to ISo 3200.
And yes you are right, of course the A77 has some additional features, like the nice OLED viewfinder, better AF system, additional controls and display. And all of the increase the price too. I only mentioned that for the price the NEX-5N is a nice piece.
JohnW
8 months ago |Who cares. APS-ML is a square peg in a round hole – itty-bitty bodies with humongous lenses and not many of those. Olympus and Panasonic will still sell more units than the NEX-3/5s because they got the sensor/lens size right and have the system pretty well figured out.
Vlad
8 months ago |They will sell when they figure out a modern sensor and how to make different bodies, rather than iterating the same thing all over.
Cereal
8 months ago |No, Neo, read my post again. You missed the point.
Here’s a hint:
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/716%7C0/(appareil2)/685%7C0/(onglet)/0/(brand)/Sony/(brand2)/Sony
Neo NiGHTS ®
8 months ago |You’re right. There was simply too many SEVENS on your message I got mixed up!
Sorry :p
The thing is: even if, in theory, the Nex7 is able to give us a good, usable, ISO 25600, then why not giving us this possibility?
We have already discussed on SAR why Sony used that “weird” ISO 16000 on the A77 and A65, but that does not make sense on the Nex7.
(specially if you consider that the 5N goes up to ISO 25600)
alphafan2011
8 months ago |in my opinion there is no real “sense” for that high isos, of course you can get some details at very low light if you have to keep the shutter speed high … but most of the people use for high iso only 3200 or 6400!
and the NEX-7 probably didnt get the ISO 25600 because it doesnt have the same good high iso performance like the NEX-5N so why offer higher isos, if the results are totally useless.
I think ISO 16000 is more than enough, if you look at the results in detail, the measured ISO from the NEX-5N at 25600 was only 17659, so not that much higher than 16000…
so lets hope that Sony uses the time until the NEX-7 release, fixes every potential problem like the 5th clicking and A77 problems and maybe tunes a little bit of the Jpeg processing and adds an option to disable Noise reduction and then the NEX-7 will be a very nice camera! Maybe also a very good kit lens is needed to feed the 24 MP with enough information, but somewhere it was shown before, that they plan to build one in the future…
My December
8 months ago |No surprise at all. Isn’t the 5n’s sensor is larger than the other two? Of course it will have higher dinamic range, ISO performance, etc..
Shessh.
bobby
8 months ago |samsung sensor is apsc
joel
8 months ago |What’s crazy is the Amazon list. Except for the GH2 all the *cameras* in the top 10 are SONY. And the NEX-7 is #5. Impressive. And better yet I’d wager the lens line up for the e-mount will increase dramatically in 2012 (if nothing else from the 3rd party people)
pancanikonpus
8 months ago |One question, 5D2 reach ~2000 ISO, but 5n beat 5D2 but why the score of ISO just 1079?
Neo NiGHTS ®
8 months ago |AFAIK, measurements (and results) are a bit different for different sized sensors.
Barbarous Waytel
8 months ago |Sorry but 5N does not beat 5D Mrk II. Look at RAWs on DPR.
passer-by
8 months ago |No surprise, even Samyang beats Zeiss and Nikkor.
C
8 months ago |Samyang owns owns owns.
Nai Yan
8 months ago |It’s weird. From eyeball (from dpreview studio and other reviews), high ISO performance of 5N is even better than FF camera such as 5D mark II (its high ISO score has reached 1815). However from DoxMark, it’s not that.
Anybody can explain this?
ItsaChris
8 months ago |The noise from the 35mm sensors are finer and presents less detail smudging at base and high ISO. In fact the 5d mkII and d700/d3/s look better at every ISO. Not a tone better mind you, but I dont see any set of images that would be considered better from the nex-5n compared to one of the above cameras.
Also the nex-5n is recording images at 12bit instead of 14bit raw.
nai yan
8 months ago |From http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/SonyNex5N/page13.asp, when you set ISO to 6400, and JPEG, 5N performance surpass Nikon D7000, Canon 5D mark II.
However, for RAW, it’s difficult to say.
If DoxMark only consider RAW? Thanks.
Dan
8 months ago |Just got mine back today, click is gone. Sony did a great job.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mandrakephotography/6218594370/
ageha
8 months ago |Nice combo!
nai yan
8 months ago |nice. ..
Jim
8 months ago |@Dan How long did it take to get your 5N back from Sony? I’m thinking of purchasing, sending it in immediately, to get it back for a vacation the second week in November. Thanks.
arthunder
8 months ago |That is impressive to see the A580 hold up so well. I wonder what its replacement will be? Surely, there must be an A55 replacement coming. The A65 just doesn’t seem to continue where the A55 left off in terms of ISO performance. If only they would update the 55 to have weather sealing, slightly larger size…..OK, just put the A580 sensor in the A65/77 body.
Steve Jones
8 months ago |If the A65 echoes the A77 performance on DXOmark (and it should, given the same sensor), then the high ISO performance of the A65 will be very similar to the A55 at common output sizes. In fact at the very highest ISO 12,800 the A77 pulls slightly ahead of the A55. (For some reason, the latest Sony’s measured on DXOmark – the NEX-5n & A77 – both have better performance and ISO 12,800 than the rest of the straight-line graph would lead you to expect).
So an A55 sensor in an A65 body might give some other advantages, but IQ isn’t going to be one of them.
Simon
8 months ago |It’s impressive, but still a rest without taking into a account the actual resolution and probably the image processing doesn’t say anything. It’s like reviewing a Porsche, taking a look at the engine and calling it the best car in the world.
David
8 months ago |Yup, exactly.
This “scientific” testing is ridiculous.
Nobody would see the differences they are trying to measure anyway unless you’re in side-by-side test charts. The whole concept of assigning points like this is stupid.
dan_scott
8 months ago |Quote: A higher resolution: 14 MPixels for the NEX 5 vs 16 MPixels for the NEX 5N
More freedom in term of ISO: so you can choose an ISO down to 100 ISO and take full advantage of the sensor quality, which is one of the best we measured at low ISO.
Less noise: at any ISO setting, the NEX 5N gains 1/3 of exposure Stop, so you won’t have to push the ISO as high as the NEX 5, naturally reducing the noise. Check the Low-Light ISO Score for more details.
Especially interesting besides the great hi-iso, is the quote… one of the best we measured at low ISO, sony pulled all the tricks this time…
mXim
8 months ago |When it comes to total score and ISO score – many of you guys put way too much weight on simple numeric scores that represent little relevance in real world situations.
DxOMark use their own RAW converter that can be a source of measurement erors. As a result, at least ISO scores should be interpreted with caution.
G.
8 months ago |DxO…ahahahhahahahhahahha!!!!!
Leica M9 n.37 same of nex 5…..ahahahhahahahah!!!
Do u really belive DxO???
Are u serious????
Dan
8 months ago |I use to feel the same way. After testing out a handful of different systems you see how the numbers translate into real life results. This is a sensor test and the M9 sensor is one of a kind and has a huge following but it’s far from the best FF sensor. Newer tech APS-C sensors have caught up to some of the older FF models. The next set of FF sensors should blow us away.
G.
8 months ago |In fact we use to put lens in front the camera to take picture, and the result are images.Then we can judge a system.
It’s not very smart to judge a system and say it’s better then another based on dxo sensor result.
I find very funny how people here go crazy with DxO result…;)
Simon_P
8 months ago |The result will be more punching when we compare 5N with 7D and 1Dm4
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/737%7C0/(brand)/Sony/(appareil2)/629%7C0/(brand2)/Canon/(appareil3)/619%7C0/(brand3)/Canon
Rednaxela
8 months ago |Please don’t forget to take different crop factors into account when comparing cross-format ISO performances. That is, if you like your comparison to be based on matching AoV *and DoF*.
In that case, the ISO value of the smaller sensor needs to multiplied first by the square of its relative crop factor (which is (2.0/1.5)^2 in case of an APS-C vs. M43 comparison like NEX-5N vs. EP3).
Don’t do this if you like your ISO/f-number/shutter speed combinations to be transferable over different camera formats, and prefer to see DoF as the outcome of a format choice. In that case you can just take the ISO numbers as shown above.
The advantage of the other approach is that the comparison is done at equal aperture diameter, and therefore equal sets of light rays (which are only bundled differently), resulting in images that are more equivalent in terms of non-IQ-related aspects, like AoV, DoF, motion blur, and image brightness.