NEX-5n review at CNET + got my NEX-5n!
Pacifica 5N from Marlon Torres on Vimeo.
IMPORTANT: At the time you are reading this I am driving across Europe (at least 13 hours drive). I will answer your mails the next days. Also comments waiting for moderation have to …wait more than usual. One more thing, I got my NEX-5n right before my departure. I will do some backstage photos of the reportage we are shooting in Doel (Antwerpen). My first impression? The Black NEX-5n + Nokton 35mm f/1.4 combo looks sexy. Image quality is amazing. What I don’t like is the usbaility of the NEX-5n (and I will write mroe about that when I am back form my trip). See you soon!
Here are the news:
Lori Grunin from CNET (Click here) posted a full Sony NEX5n review: “I don’t know that I can recommend the NEX-5N as the best option for point-and-shoot upgraders; for that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 offers the more familiar interface and performance worth stepping up to. And I think the body itself might be too small for some people looking for a dSLR alternative, and for some of those folks a hardware mode dial or traditional hot shoe can be a deal killer. But it’s a solid camera with extremely good video quality and capabilities for its class, and though its performance isn’t best in class, it’s certainly good enough.”
EosHD (CLick here) wrote a tutorial about how to optimize the Sony NEX 5N for cinematic video.
Kayakphoto (Click here) just got the new external OLED viewfinder for the NEX-5n: “Once again the quality of the EVF is truly outstanding. When coupled with some of my older Nikkor glass and using the manual focus assist I can literally see the difference in quality as the lens is stopped down. This also shows up with focus peaking.”
You can get the viewfinder at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay.
And as I did with the NEX-7 once here is the full worldwide Sony store list (+ some more shops) to check the NEX-5n availability and price. Just click on the name to visit the product page!
Australia: Sony.au, Digitalrev, Amazon, Adorama, B&H, eBay.au
Austria: Amazon.at, Sony.at, eBay.at
Belgium: Sony.be, eBay.be
Canada: Sony.ca, B&H, Adorama, eBay.ca
China: Amazon.cn, Digitalrev, eBay
Denmark: Sony.dk, eBay
Finland: Sony.fi, eBay
France: Sony.fr, Amazon.fr, eBay.fr
Germany: Amazon.de, Sony.de, eBay.de
Hong Kong: Amazon, Digitalrev, B&H, Adorama, eBay
Ireland: Sony.ie, Amazon.uk, eBay.ie
Italy: Sony.it, Amazon.it, eBay.it
Japan: Amazon.jp, Rakuten, eBay
Netherlands: Sony.nl, eBay.nl
Norway: Sony.no, eBay
Poland: Sony.pl, Redcoon.pl, eBay
Singapore: Digitalrev, B&H, eBay
Spain: Sony.es, Amazon.es, Redcoon.es, eBay
Sweden: Sony.se, eBay
Switzerland: Sony.ch, Amazon.de, eBay.ch
United Kingdom: Amazon.co.uk, Warehouseexpress, eBay UK
USA: Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay
AutofansWim
2 years ago |Nice! For the people who don’t know Doel(Antwerp). It’s an abandoned village. It supposed to make room for the expansion of the Antwerp Harbor(2th largest in Europe), but it had been +10 years now and the construction of the docs still hasn’t begun. it’s a pretty good location, we did a trio-shoot(cars) there 2 years ago.
Gunnar
2 years ago |Hey, congrats on your new toy!
i was very close to order it myself, but sony canada was the dealbreaker for me 
I really wonder what cnet thinks is the performance leader in this class??
ronnbot
2 years ago |What do u mean? I was at a Sony Store in Vancouver mall and they had it. I played with it for some time and it’s nice. It was 800 and the original 5 was 650
Gunnar
2 years ago |i was there too and had a play with it.. i just found that i rather wait a month more to get the Nex 7 as its really different to the Nex 5, the 5N is more a evolution and i found i not really need this upgrade.. withe the viewfinder its even more expensive then the Nex 7
but mostly i was disappointed with the price difference to the states and that the white Nex is available across the border but not here 
Peter
2 years ago |I am from Canada and ordered from BH Photo and Video, it was about 810 with taxes and shipping.
pancanikonpus
2 years ago |will it make sense sold 600d upgrade to 5n =.=| i m lost
Mist
2 years ago |In my opinion. it is worth to upgrade.
600d only score about 64 in DXO mark, and I am sure NEX-5N will not less than 80.
pancanikonpus
2 years ago |i saw many other play 5n with nikon 35mm f2 or other lens.. wonder its has AF..
Gunnar
2 years ago |I guess you’ve been around long enough to know the answer
ScottD
2 years ago |I sold my 600d to get the 5n… no regrets at all. The 5n isn’t a perfect camera, but the IQ and the ability to take fantastic images in low light makes it worth it. My shots immediately looked better.
I’ve even had a few shots printed to see what they would look like and I never had any of my 600D images look this sharp, clear and colorful.
Do it!
pancanikonpus
2 years ago |already sold it before 24th aug, now concern is the ‘moves’
z
2 years ago |Out of tens of thousands reviewers in the world, CNET is the worst as always.
Just take a look at their, now deleted, canon s100 preview. They say the s100 is disappointing because it has 30% smaller sensor than s95. Can you even believe that basic mistakes?
Marcohard
2 years ago |+1
drpat
2 years ago |she always looks like she just got out of bed from a long long night to do a review… i just dont feel any tech at all when watching. one cnet wont change my mind about 5n whatsoeva.
Dder
2 years ago |Cnet always has it in for sony cameras. They’re like a salesperson at Ritz. No matter what they’ll sell you a rebel. Too sentimental. They %100 percent hated on the wii and then the DS too (in sinus favor)… Showing they are too nerdy. Gear heads hated the wii and DS for specs but those things sold.
Billy bob
2 years ago |Bitch looks like chewbacca
Juice
2 years ago |Agreed,
CNET reviews are skewed and many times filled with errors. I used to trust them so much. But I’ve noticed that Lori (the reviewer) is so inconsistent.
AndyL
2 years ago |“the screen feels too small for some of the areas you need to press, and it takes multiple touches for some things to register, so ultimately it’s not faster or more intuitive to use than the buttons.”
I think it is a misconception/misinterpretation from the author. I find the touchscreen of the Nex5N ultra responsive. In fact it registers even when my finger barely touches the screen. It is more sensitive than an IPad 1 which I own (and I find no problem with it). Since I have a pretty big hand, I have found the trick to register the input reliably on such a small device. You can’t really push the screen but rather touch the screen lightly to ensure a minimum contact with the screen to correctly register. It also happens to my iPhone 3GS. I always type the wrong letter when texting in the portrait position. The ultra sensitivity that Sony has set for the Nex5N actually helps. They did it on purpose since the Sonh tablet that I tried in Sony store was not as sensitive as the Nex5N b/c it is not required, just like the IPad.
CRYO
2 years ago |Have my 5N for 2 weeks, Its picture quality is really amazing, its control is a bit messy if you just use stock setting, but after you custom assign all the function shortcuts to your taste, you can control it handily, and the added touch control is really useful
Now I take this little beast with me everyday
Below is my 5N photo stream
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvZuTmT
z
2 years ago |I notice some overexposure on your stream. Is that camera problem or intentional? Because it actually accentuate some color and quite beautiful.
CRYO
2 years ago |I mostly shoot in M mode so what you see in my stream is intentional, from my try the auto exposure of this little beast is quite reliable
Paul C
2 years ago |Blimey.
Wonderful colour. Wonderful bokeh. Very nice indeed.
Had you an adaptor fitted for your cz? Which one?
CRYO
2 years ago |I got my nice m42-E mount adaptor from ebay
Aiden
2 years ago |really good. so surprised on the quality!
dac38
2 years ago |LORI GRUNIN … are you craazy ? Why does it always look like you are drunk and wake up, hold the camera for a min or so and then rant about it. Unless its a canon, which you are familiar with and hence dont need to spend that additional minute or so as well.
z
2 years ago |Off topic a bit, but people actually complain that Android phones has 2-3 more physical buttons than their iPhone. A shame really.
5N is more like an iPhone here, but it is aimed to iPhone people anyways. Big boys love Android and NEX 7.. Not that any of those is bad at all, in fact, they are all great.
CRYO
2 years ago |Actually I would prefer a Nex 6, that’s a Nex 7 body with Nex 5N’s CMOS and touch screen, as both physical and touch control have their own strengths at different conditions, but they don’t provide this combo, so I choose 5N and wait if FF Nex will appear, and this choice also reserved me some bucks for the coming E 24 Zeiss
grumps
2 years ago |Clearly Lori Grunin has dismissed herself from any serious reviews. The 5n is simply amazing camera, in all aspects. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 is good but not even in the same class. With the 5n you are clearly getting DSLR IQ is a very small package, once you get familiarized with what works best for you with the camera, it’s whole new world. I registered my son’s face a few times just to try to see if giving more example would help, but it’s clearly picking him out with the face detect too and shooting APS-C. The object tracking is good, but you will realize it’s limitations soon, but once there you can use it effectively. It’s not magic, but worthy additions, and Sony needs us to support these techs and let them know where it needs improving.
Colamango
2 years ago |https://www.sonystyle.com.my/Promotions/MainPromo.aspx
Duarte Bruno
2 years ago |60p is just wonderful for slow mo, but IMHO unacceptable chroma noise on those shadows for the kind of light available.
Don’t get me wrong… the NEX-5N is a monster for stills and low light (I’ll eat a finger if it’s not better than the NEX-7) but the GH2 (or the Olympus E-P3 for that matter) has got to have at least 2EV advantage over it in video.
This monster of a sensor is being massively sub-sampled for video, and I’ll eat an arm if it’s not!
Joe
2 years ago |I don’t know for sure if the GH2 or E-P3 is superior in video, but I’m sure that you’re a cannibal (moving from a finger to an arm is quite significant).
dyna
2 years ago |in my store we often refer people to CanonNET so they may see what a professionally uninformed review looks like. They make the sniping on Amazon.com’s user reviews seem deep and philosophical in comparison. It’s too bad they’ve not improved.
Zductive
2 years ago |After carrying my nex-c3 all over europe, I am VERY happy that it does not have a touchscreen. Frequently, I found that I had placed part of my palm on the screen while carrying it around.
1046 photos shot. 1045 in-focus.
The anti-blur mode actually works! I shot many hand held shots while in churches w/o flash. Other than the funny looks from people that thought that I was burst shooting, the images are imho, very sharp for hand held
ahmike
2 years ago |hmmmm how did he slowmo ??? anybody got a link or a guide ?