SONY DSC-RX100 (10.4mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO125)
4. Image quality: ( click on each image to see it’s 1500 pixel version )
Today there is no 150MP full frame camera. Even the 36MP sensor of the Nikon D800 is considered too much for most of the lenses. You need the best lenses and technique to make the camera shine. The RX100 sensor scaled up would result in a 150 MegaPixel full frame camera so it needs a very good lens and good technique to get most out of it. Continue reading
SONY NEX-5 (45mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO200)
Camera reviews today:
At the beginning camera reviews on the internet were a great source of information. The biggest advantage of these reviews was that they were totally unbiased. Just take a look at magazines. A substantial part of their profit comes from advertising. Someone needs to be a real naive person if he expects a critical review of a product of a company that places big ads in the magazine. You just don’t bite the hand that feeds you. On the internet it was different. But it seems that’s not the case any more. Today most reviews are at least very positive and some just read like they were written by the marketing department of the camera maker. But why is that? Why are simple users or reviewers not unbiased anymore? I think there are two reasons: Continue reading
DSC-RX100 (10.4mm, f/1.8, 1/500 sec, ISO125)
A picture of a cat? If you are a regular visitor of camera gear forums like dpreview you know that there is only one reason: Some serious testing of new gear. 😉
I always shot compact cameras beside my SLRs and DSLRs. My favorite small camera of all times was a Contax T2. Continue reading
Part II deals with AF, overall performance and handling.
Let’s start with:
1. AF ( autofocus )
Both are no real AF heroes but they are completely different. The NEX feels snappier, has more AF points active at the same time and has face detection. AF is best with the 16mm or with the 18-55 kit lens on the wide end. Zoom in and AF get’s slower and in low contrast situations there is focus hunting. But AF is good enough for everything but action and reliable most of the time. Sometimes it misses for no reason and you got an out of focus shot.
NEX-5 (55mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO200)
This is not an example as focus is spot on ( on the remains of a dead insect on the windscreen ) but an out of focus shot looks similar to that. But the NEX is fast enough to shot images while driving. I guess that the NEX 6 AF is vastly improved because of the on sensor phase detection. If the Alaska video is real it is able to track a low flying plane. We will see.
The Fuji is different. Continue reading
Within the next couple of weeks two very special mirror less cameras will hit the street: the Sony NEX 6 and the Fuji X-E1. At first glance both cameras have a lot in common: 16MP APS-C sensor, EVF, small bodies with built in flash and both come at a similar price. So it is not easy to decide which camera to choose. Well, I don’t think so. Both are completely different. But how do I know when both cameras do only exist on the web?
FinePix X100 (23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO2500)
I got a Sony NEX 5 in 2010 and shot over 7.000 images with it so far. I also got a Fuji X100 in 2011 and until today I have made about 7.500 pictures with this camera. It’s save to say that I know both cameras very well. Both have their strong points and both have their weaknesses. I want to give you an impression about how it feels to take images with them. Continue reading